


Welcome to the Underworld

by Tinywriterfairy



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fashion & Models, Alternate Universe - Office, Angst with a Happy Ending, Background Relationships, Communication, Established Kunyong, Falling In Love, Familial Abuse, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Inspired by Hades and Persephone (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), M/M, Mentioned Mark Lee (NCT), Mentioned Park Jisung (NCT), Mentioned Son Seungwan | Wendy, Mentioned Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas, Mentioned Zhong Chen Le, Misunderstandings, No magic my apologies, Slow Burn, Unhealthy Relationships, hints at future ships, names are important
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-20
Updated: 2019-11-20
Packaged: 2021-02-13 17:02:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 34,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21497488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tinywriterfairy/pseuds/Tinywriterfairy
Summary: Ten just wants to design clothes. Yuta wants to let him. Will his mother get in their way?
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Nakamoto Yuta
Comments: 10
Kudos: 77
Collections: NCT Rarepair





	Welcome to the Underworld

**Author's Note:**

> "Hades and Persephone with a modern twist. The gods are just very rich owners of multimillion-dollar companies. In this case, the fashion industry. Demeter owns a famous clothing brand that sells to the general public. Persephone works at his mother's company as a receptionist. She refuses to let him design. Hades owns a renowned couture clothing brand. When he sees Persephone's talent, Hades offers him a job at his company." Prompt 101
> 
> A note about the tags; I tagged both implied abuse and familial abuse because the discussion of Ten's relationship with his mother and some of her actions hover on the line between reference and explicit on-screen abuse, while others are implied. I promise that is the only unhealthy relationship here.
> 
> Thank you so much to Jesse (smallchittaphon) for being my beta once again, to Amber (Tolsmolsol), Val (Milival), Lee (bunnyctzen), Robin(sanhascroissant), and Penny(chennieforyourthoughts) for listening to me ramble and being very patient with me. A special thanks to Nat (lexiconartist) for inspiring the setting! To my prompter, I hope you enjoy~ and don't yell at me too much, please~

Ten drew pencil across paper, shading the bottom of the dress he was sketching. The real thing would be a dark rose that faded to light pink near the straps, but the grey pencil sketch wasn’t bad. The shrill tone of the desk phone jolted him back to reality. Ten dropped the sketchbook into the lowest drawer of his desk with one hand and answered the phone with the other.

“Demeter Clothing, Demeter’s office, how may I help you?” 

“_Hi, Ten_.” Ten relaxed a little when Jungwoo chuckled. Intimidating as the critic might be, he was still one of Ten’s favorites. “_I need an appointment with your mother as soon as she’s available. It’s not urgent, but I want to discuss the message she left me about the Vogue Italia review._”

“Of course.” Ten clicked into his mother’s calendar. “She’s open at two today, or there are several hours tomorrow if that’s too soon.”

“_No, two is perfect. Thanks, Ten_.”

“No need to thank me, it’s my job.” He filled the two o’clock slot for _Zeus: Kim Jungwoo re:review_. “Ah. Her previous appointment is with Hera Fabrics.”

Jungwoo hummed. “_I think we can handle one crossed path. I’ll see you at two, then?_”

“Of course you will. I’ll see you then.”

He replaced the phone in its cradle. At least the phone, like most items in this upper office, was a reasonable black. Demeter hadn’t been able to make everything in the building look like a wild garden. Ten checked the company email; based on the notifications, he made adjustments to his mother’s schedule for the next few days. The phone rang. He fielded several calls in a row before everything fell silent again.

Ten cracked his neck. The reception area remained empty. This close to lunch, no one wanted meetings with even lower-level designers, let alone the CEO. Maybe it was safe. Ten snuck the sketchbook out of its drawer and picked up his pencil. Sketching remained the most interesting part of his day. He lost himself in the pencil strokes.

Behind him, the door clicked. Ten dropped the sketchbook into its drawer and slammed it shut. His mother passed by the desk without stopping to glance at him. “I’m going out for lunch, darling. I’ll be back by twelve-thirty. Who did you put on my schedule for two?”

“Jungwoo.”

She tsked. “You should really call him Zeus, it’s polite.” She paused in the doorway. Taller than Ten, taller than most men, Demeter dominated the room in her trademark deep green. She dominated most rooms if he was honest. “Make sure you eat lunch soon.”

Ten pasted on a smile. “I will, Mom.” That seemed to please her. She nodded and disappeared.

Ten spent his lunch hour snacking and sketching at his desk. No one ever bothered him during lunch. He made sure to hide the sketchbook before his mother returned and have water ready for her on his desk. Jungwoo strolled in precisely at two, already smiling far too bright.

“Good afternoon, Ten.”

“Good afternoon.” Ten pointed at the room behind him. “She’s just finishing up. I’ll let her know you’re here.”

Jungwoo perched on the edge of Ten’s desk. “It’s fine, I don’t mind chatting with you.” He set a pack of drawing pencils on the desk. “And I thought you might like these.”

Ten lunged for them. “Thank you so much, I’ve been running out.”

Jungwoo waved him off. “It’s not like there’s much else I could do. Don’t give up, okay?”

Ten nodded. He slid the pencils into his desk drawer before his mother’s door opened. Joohyun—Hera, his mother insisted on calling her—stepped out. She froze when she spotted Jungwoo leaning against Ten’s desk, looking remarkably like a hissing cat.

“Hello, Joohyun.” Jungwoo stood. “It’s been a while.”

“Don’t talk to me.” She unfroze and sped past him before he could respond. Jungwoo only shrugged.

“Shall we go in, then?” He disappeared into Demeter’s office; they shut Ten away, but at least he could draw.

Ten lit up when _Aphrodite: Hendery re: freelance consultation_ appeared as a reminder. The man himself appeared in the doorway a few minutes before his appointment.

“I forgot you were coming today.” He took Hendery’s hand when he came close enough to the desk. “Why are you here?”

Hendery waved at Demeter’s office. “She wants me to help design a new teen line.” He lowered his voice. “I think it’s a bit of a stretch, but they’re willing to let me at their materials, so who am I to say no?”

Ten hummed. “Make money wherever you can, yes.”

He laughed quietly. “I can’t come over tonight, because of this, but maybe we can all sneak you out for the weekend? I know Yangyang has been dying for a break.”

Ten stretched. “That would be nice, but I think she has plans for us. Out of Milan plans, maybe. I’ll let you know?”

Hendery nodded and stepped back just as Demeter’s door open. He swept off into meetings Ten could only dream of being a part of.

Ten followed his mother out of their office at the end of the day, sketchbook and new pencils safely hidden in his bag. Clouds scudded across the bleak sky as he made conversation with his mother. Even passing the _Duormo di Milano_ on the way to inspect one of Demeter’s shops didn’t inspire him. He stored the lofty spires away for later. 

His mother dropped him off at the door to his apartment. He trudged inside. He kept the bare minimum of decorations; a couple of photos of his mother’s outfits, of the two of them together, scattered around a bookshelf and coffee table; the small television he’d had since he lived at home sat across from his small couch. His sketchbooks hid from his mother under his bed. Ten tossed his bag onto the couch as he went to the kitchen. He heated leftovers for dinner and entertained himself by watching his friends and his mother’s lives play out in public.

***

Yuta tapped a pencil against his desk. Hendery paced a serpentine path through his office, in and around the coffee table and chairs, the drafting desk, the couch, as he talked through a pitch. Yuta noted another important point. The proposal from Demeter glared at him from his computer screen.

“Yuta, are you listening to me?” Hendery waved a hand at him. “Is everything okay?”

Yuta straightened. “Sorry, I’m fine. I like your idea, yes. I’m just stuck on this proposal I received this morning.”

Sunlight glinted off Hendery’s many rings as he came closer. “Who’s it from?” Hendery tried to peer around at his computer.

Yuta blocked him. Hendery pouted, but backed off. “That’s what’s confusing me. It’s from Demeter.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “They’re successful on their own and our markets don’t match at all. It sounds like the kind of thing I’d turn down immediately, but then, so would she. What’s the angle here? And why does she want to meet personally?”

“Demeter?” Hendery cocked his head. “That’s interesting.”

“Is it? Why? What do you know?”

Hendery shrugged, a smile playing around his lips. “Oh, nothing. Just … you might find something interesting there.”

“Right.” Yuta picked up the folder with Hendery’s current contract. “Anyway, this is the usual one job deal. Let me know if there’s something you want to change.”

“Of course.” Hendery took it and perched on the couch to look it over. “No, this looks fine to me.”

They took care of the signing and Yuta put away the file. Hendery paused in the doorway on his way out. “Think about what I said, Hades. It might be worth a look.” Then he was gone.

Yuta sat back in his chair. What did Hendery know? The proposal lingered on his screen. His personal cell rang. Yuta answered it. “What do you want?”

“_Since when have I ever wanted things from you?_” Taeil’s voice cut through everything. “_What’s wrong?_”

“Sorry,” Yuta grumbled. “I have a bad feeling about this meeting.”

“_Who are you meeting?_” Yuta explained the proposal. Taeil sighed. “_Ahh, yes. I see why you’d be worried. Demeter gives me a bad feeling, too. The number of times she’s gone against others in your industry over trivial points_ _…_” He could practically see Taeil shaking his head. “_Why? Are you going?_”

“I don’t know yet. She wants to collaborate.” Yuta played with a pen. “I don’t like it. But Hendery told me to at least go—that there’s something there for me.”

Taeil’s voice went opaque. “_There are rumors about a secret Demeter keeps in her company. Maybe Hendery knows something_.”

“Maybe.” Yuta pulled up an email to confirm the meeting. “So what are you doing?”

Something rustled. “_Oh, one of Johnny’s clients wants to hire me to fix his crisis plan. I’m deciding whether or not to take him on._”

“Bad case?”

“_Annoying client. I don’t know how Johnny deals with him._”

“Johnny’s a saint. But you’re really patient, too, I’m sure you could handle it if you want.”

Taeil laughed. “_Thanks. We’ll see how it goes._”

They chatted for a while more as Yuta dealt with some paperwork. The Demeter problem could wait.

***

Ten passed Jeno the last file. “And this one goes down to Accounting as quick as you can.”

Jeno grinned and saluted. “Hermes is on it.” He dashed from the office.

At least Jeno enjoyed his mother’s odd nicknames for people. Ten didn’t bother to wonder why he’d never received one as he sorted through the files Jeno had left him. The computer flagged _Artemis: Dong Sicheng re: modeling proposal_ for him with a few minutes to go. Ten stuck the last of the files flat into a drawer so he could be free in case someone came by while Sicheng was there. Sicheng strolled in a few minutes early, as usual. Ten waved with both hands.

“You look very bored.” Sicheng came to crouch beside Ten. “What are you up to?”

“Filing.” Ten pulled the drawer open to show the remaining files resting on top of his sketchbook. “I didn’t want anyone telling me I should be doing something else while you’re here.”

Sicheng nudged the files aside to show the sketchbook. “Got anything new?”

“I see we’re living on the edge today.” But the room was blessedly empty, so Ten pulled out the book. He let Sicheng flip through it. 

Sicheng traced the edge of a suit Ten had been toying with. “I like this.”

“Thanks.” Ten propped his head on his hand. “It’s not quite done, but I think it would be pretty.”

“It would be. I’d love to wear it.” Ten refused to think about that; there was no point. “Speaking of,” Sicheng rolled his eyes. “Have you seen what they want to dress me in?”

“You think she shows me anything around here?”

“Good point. Let me on the computer?” Ten sat back to let Sicheng by. Sicheng left the sketchbook in Ten’s lap. He pulled up a series of photos from his email. The slender fall of fabric would fit Sicheng’s frame, but all the little ornaments made the outfit too busy to really suit him. “It’s really not my style, but my manager suggested that I at least hear them out.”

“Hm.” The door cracked. Ten blanked the computer screen. He waved as Sicheng traded places with a small group of lawyers. “Good luck.”

Sicheng smiled at him. “You, too.”

Ten traded his sketchbook for files as Sicheng disappeared like the others.

***

Yuta strode into the lobby of Demeter Clothing. The place was like a living garden—or a small jungle—with not only plants in vases and potted trees, but decorations on the walls bloomed with color. Most of the chairs remained a cool brown, so nothing clashed. Still, he felt a little suffocated as he walked up to the front desk to give his name. The receptionist pointed him to a stately elevator leading right up to Demeter’s office block. Typical elevator music jingled.

He made his way into the reception area for Demeter’s office. The receptionist was typing away at something on his computer and only noticed Yuta when he came within reach of the desk. A notebook lay crooked next to the man’s arm. Yuta paused. Nobody made him wait anymore, but this man was interesting enough to make it worth it. Even in standard office clothes, his skin glowed. Black hair cut short barely framed his forehead. Full lips pursed in concentration under a cute nose and lovely, wide eyes. The only truly unusual feature for a receptionist was all the piercings in his ears: three silver hoops on each lobe, a rook and helix on one side, and a conch and helix on the other. The upper barbells and hoops matched his hair.

“Oh, hello.” The receptionist started when he noticed Yuta. “You must be Nakamoto Yuta? Or do you prefer Hades? I’m sorry, I usually get warnings for appointments.”

Even though the smile directed at him was only polite, Yuta found himself smiling back. “Just Yuta is fine, thank you. What’s your name?”

The man gave a crooked grin. “You couldn’t pronounce it. You can call me Ten.”

“All right, Ten.” Ten couldn’t be all Hendery had meant, but he was, in fact, more interested in staying to talk instead of sit through Demeter’s meeting. “I believe my appointment was for the hour?”

“Yes.” Ten glanced over his shoulder. “The current meeting seems to be running over, I’m sorry. They should be done soon.”

“It’s fine. Have you worked here long?”

Ten wrinkled his nose cutely. “Only since I started high school, so forever?”

Yuta laughed. Ten’s elbow nudged his notebook. It didn’t seem to be lined under the pencil resting across it. Yuta drew closer. The notebook was a sketchbook—a well-used one, apparently. There couldn’t be more than ten pages left unused. A glorious sketch of a minidress drawn to appear made from flowers blazed out from under the pencil. “Did you draw that?”

Pure fear flashed across Ten’s face. He snatched the sketchbook away to stash somewhere below the desk. “You didn’t see anything, okay? Please.”

Yuta blinked at him. “Are you all right?”

Ten stared back. “I’m fine. It was nothing. You didn’t see anything. I’ll just let my mother know you’re here and you’ve been waiting.” He worked the intercom with shaking fingers, though his voice came out perfectly smooth.

_Mother_. So this was the rumored son? “With designs like that, why are you a receptionist? Unless you like it better. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Ten’s fingers clenched around a pen. “Pardon me for saying so, but I really don’t see how this is any of your business.”

“It’s probably not.” Why was he even doing this? “But I can’t help wanting to know.” He wanted Ten.

The door behind Ten opened before Ten could come up with a response. Whoever had been in that meeting trickled out, followed by Demeter. She matched her company, dressed in bright, flowery colors. He was almost reminded of a parrot.

She came forward with a brilliant smile. If Ten was her son, Yuta could certainly see the resemblance. The hair that spilled over her shoulders softened her face in a way Ten’s did not, but they shared the same cheekbones. And eyes, though hers warned him off despite the smile. “You must be Hades.” She stretched out a hand.

He took it; her skin was very cold. “I prefer Yuta, if you would.”

“Of course.” She waved him back into the office. “Please, sit.”

He sat. Demeter gave another smile before launching into her proposal. It was everything he’d expected, a collaboration between their companies with—though she tried to be subtle about it—her designs at the forefront with his money backing her.

“Your receptionist, Ten,” he found himself asking when she came to a pause, “is he your son? I’ve heard the rumors and you do look alike.”

Demeter waved a hand. “Yes, he’s my son. He’s very efficient, isn’t he? Makes himself practically invisible.”

She brought up another point of the proposal. He waited it out, though there was little to tempt him.

“So, what do you think?” Demeter folded her hands. “Could we work together?”

“Well.” How to phrase this delicately? Ten’s sketch flashed behind his eyes. “It’s certainly an interesting proposal. I’d like some time to think. Shall I give you a call in about a week?”

“Perfect.” Demeter clapped her hands once and stood. “I’ll have Ten put you in the schedule. Thank you so much for coming by.”

Yuta smiled his way out of the room. Ten was working on some kind of calendar, probably entering his information. Come to think of it, Ten had probably been the one to arrange this meeting in the first place. If he hadn’t said yes, he never would have known. A woman sat waiting in reception when he stepped out. She brushed past him and shut the door to Demeter’s office. Yuta loitered by the edge of Ten’s desk.

Ten sighed. He reached into a drawer near the bottom of his desk and drew out the sketchbook, running his fingers over the cover.

“You really are very good.” Yuta stepped back when Ten almost jumped out of his seat. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you didn’t know I was here.”

Ten let himself fall back in his seat, a hand over his heart. “I should have realized.” He glanced up, still holding on tightly to his sketchbook. “Do you really think so? You only saw one sketch.”

Yuta raised an eyebrow. “Is that your way of telling me that you want to show me more of your sketches?”

Ten pursed his lips. “No.” He glanced around. “Would you really want to see them?”

Yuta chanced a step closer. “I really would. If you wouldn’t mind showing me.”

Ten licked his lips. “We have a few minutes before anyone would show up. I …” He nodded decisively. “Yes, okay.” He set the book on his desk. “Go ahead.”

Ten held very still as Yuta leaned past him. Was he really that scared of Yuta’s opinion? He opened the book. Was it because he was a professional designer or a stranger? He’d opened it from the back, so the first sketch to come up was the near-finished minidress. Despite being covered in flowers, it was much subtler than anything he had seen around here. He flipped through a few pages, past half-done sketches and scribbles. 

The next full sketch to catch his eye was a sharp winter suit—not because it was bulky, but because he’d modeled it after icicles and snowflakes. Another, more neutral one-piece outfit gave the impression of falling leaves even though Ten hadn’t drawn any leaves or wilting flowers on it. The seasonal mood had to be recent, because the sketches changed drastically as he moved further back. A punk rocker outfit that might just have been an observation. An elegant ball gown in gradient. Another gradient marked for pink, but drawn in pencil, of a more casual dress meant to hit the knee, on the facing page.

“Ten, these are amazing.” Yuta traced the ball gown above the paper with his finger. The style was unlike anything he’d seen before, but it certainly wasn’t Demeter’s. Why would she cage him here? “Come work with me.”

“What?” Ten stared up at Yuta in what looked like flat shock. Yuta supposed he couldn’t blame him.

“Come work with me.” He glanced at Demeter’s door, but it remained firmly closed. “Join my team. I’m serious. Your style—it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen, but I want it.”

Ten’s mouth opened and closed, but nothing came out.

“Look.” Yuta straightened, pulling out his wallet. He slid out one of his personal business cards to hand to Ten. “Take my card. Think about it. You can call me anytime and ask me whatever you want. Whenever would be good for you. I’m serious.”

Ten stared at the card like Yuta was holding out a snake. He reached out for the card with careful fingers. Ten set it in a pocket of the bag that rested against on side of his desk. He took the sketchbook and hid it again. “Thank you.” When he sat up, the receptionist’s mask was back in place. “But that meeting is about to finish and I don’t think that you’d really want to be caught here talking to me this long.”

“You’re probably right,” Yuta agreed reluctantly. He backed toward the door. “Think about it, okay?”

Ten nodded slowly. He glanced around. “Thank you. Go.”

Yuta waved before he got out. He waited until he had survived the traffic circle around the _Piazza del Duormo_ before calling Taeil. “Please tell me I haven’t gone crazy.”

“_Well, that would depend on what you’ve done._” Taeil sounded amused. “_Did something happen at Demeter’s?_”

“I think I found what Hendery was hinting at.” He gripped the steering wheel. “Demeter uses her son as a receptionist.”

“_Okay? What’s significant about this? Wait, is he pretty? Do you have a crush?_”

Yuta stopped for a red light. No matter what the rearview mirror showed, he was _not_ blushing. “Shut up. Yes, he’s beautiful, but that’s not what’s significant. He’s a brilliant designer. I saw the sketchbook he hides from his mother. He let me look at it, but he was terrified to let her see.”

“_So Hendery wanted you to find him? Interesting. What did you do that’s so crazy?_”

“I offered him a job.”

“_You what?_”

“I gave him my personal card, told him I wanted him on my team, and said he could call me any time.” Yuta changed lanes. “Tell me I haven’t gone crazy.”

“_Well … I didn’t see his designs. Are they that good?_”

“They’re incredible, Taeil.” He still couldn’t get them—or Ten—out of his head. “I’ve never seen anything quite like it. He’s so imaginative.”

“_Is he worth whatever fight you could start with Demeter? If he’s that good, there must be a reason she’s chosen not to employ him._”

He couldn’t stop thinking about the fear Ten had shown, either. “He’s worth it.” 

“_Then no, you’re not crazy. Sometimes you have to take risks._”

“Thanks.”

“_Now, tell me more about how pretty this boy is._” Yuta groaned, but let his best friend tease him as he drove home.

***

Ten contemplated Yuta’s business card, sitting on his coffee table while Ten nursed a glass of wine. The card stood out more than just being new. It was stark black against the warm brown of the table. The word “Hades,” written in gold lettering, glared up from it, with a phone number printed underneath. It had to be some kind of joke—a fever dream. But he had pinched himself three times and each hurt; he couldn’t have imagined Yuta coming into the office when he’d been the one to make the appointment and his mother had kept Yuta in her office for almost an hour talking his ear off about her new plan.

Ten picked up his cell. He pressed Sicheng’s contact and waited while the hunting dog ringtone played. Sicheng had chosen it himself—he could be a little odd sometimes.

“_Hey, what is it?_”

“Something weird happened today.” Ten took the last sip of his wine. He set the glass on the table, on a coaster far from the card. Just in case. “You know Nakamoto Yuta, right?”

“_The founder of Hades?_” Sicheng snorted. “_Of course I know him. I walked his whole season last year, remember?_”

“Yeah.” Ten swallowed. That was part of what made this so surreal. Yuta was Sicheng’s kind of person—a CEO and designer of the biggest fashion company around went with high-class models, not receptionists with buried dreams. He wasn’t the kind of person who paid any attention to Ten. “He came into the office for an appointment today.”

“_That is weird. Hades and Demeter aren’t exactly the same kind of company._”

Ten snorted. “I know. Mom’s being weird. She thinks some kind of collaboration will increase business. Which it would if she could remotely interest Hades, but that’s not the point. He saw my sketchbook.”

“_You showed him your sketches?_” He couldn’t blame Sicheng for the skepticism, considering how long Ten had taken to show any of his friends.

“Not on purpose. The first time, anyway. I left it out like an idiot because there was a free spot in the schedule and I thought I would have a minute to draw. He showed up early and spotted one of my sketches. He asked about it. That was weird enough, but I got him to drop it and I don’t think he said anything to Mom, so I’m safe there.”

“_That’s good. Did something else happen?_”

“Yeah.” Ten swallowed. “When he came out after, he asked about them again. He really wanted to see my sketches. I don’t know what I was thinking. I must have been out of my mind, but I let him see it. He looked at all of the sketches in that book, Chengie. Here’s the crazy part. He asked me to work with him.”

“_What?_”

“I know, right?” Ten laughed shakily. “He said he really liked my work.” Ten kept the other words—amazing and so on—close to his chest. That still felt too personal to share. “Then he asked me to work with him and gave me his card. He said I could call any time. I made him go away because Mom was about to see him, but now I have this card and I don’t know what to do with it.”

Sicheng took a slow breath. “_Call him. Right now._”

“But it’s the middle of the night.” It wasn’t, quite—it was only 9 pm—but close enough. “No one will pick up.”

“_What’s the number on the card?_”

Ten read it off.

“_That’s his personal number, Ten._”

“What?”

“_Yeah. He has two business cards. The one he gives out when he’s in business meetings has the company number with his extension and directs to his secretary. The other one is his personal number. He rarely gives those out. I only got that card after a year of walking his clothes, and then only because he liked me._” Sicheng’s tone gentled. “_He’s serious, Tennie. Call him now._”

“Wouldn’t that be rude?”

“_Did he not say you could call him at any time?_”

Ten fidgeted. Yuta had said that.

“_He doesn’t say things he doesn’t mean. Call him. He knows more about this then I would, anyway._”

“Right. Okay. Thank you.”

“_Anytime_.” Sicheng hung up on him. Ten shook his head at the dial tone. He picked the card up. Could he really do this? He rubbed his thumb over the name. _Hades_. Hades had been a pipe dream as long as he had known of the company. He couldn’t not try.

Ten dialed the number. Rock music from a band he didn’t recognize played as the ringtone.

“_Hello?_” Yuta’s voice had been intense enough in person; right next to his ear, it was almost overwhelming. Ten shifted.

“Hi.” Ten cleared his throat. “This is Ten. You gave me your card this morning.”

“_Yes, I remember. Is this a good time for you to talk?_”

“I guess. I’m at home; I live alone, so my mom isn’t here.” He picked at the pattern on the blanket over his knees. “Were you really serious?”

Yuta laughed, a lovely sound in his ear. Ten shook his head. “_Yes. I don’t say things I don’t mean. I especially don’t give out my personal number to just anyone._”

“Right.” Ten shrugged, though Yuta couldn’t see it. “Sorry, I just find this all a little hard to believe.”

“_Why? Your designs are brilliant._”

How could he just say things like that?

“I’m glad you think so. It’s just … design has never been an option for me. And for you, the head of Hades, to say something like that? It’s a little hard to believe.”

“_I suppose that’s fair._” Something rustled on the other end of the line. Was he up working? “_I don’t think I’ll convince you over the phone like this, if it’s that hard to believe. How about we set up a meeting at my company? You can see how serious I am and we’ll both be in a better position to talk in detail._”

Ten frowned. “I’m not sure.”

“_You don’t want to see Hades?_” Yuta sounded amused, which was probably fair.

“No, I do.” He probably had no idea how much Ten wanted to see it. “But I work every day my mother does, the same hours. I don’t really get time off at a time that would be good to meet you, and I can’t just ask her for the day off to go see you. She would throw a fit if she knew we were even talking.” More than a fit. “I don’t know how to get around her.”

Yuta hummed. It sent a shiver down Ten’s spine. “_I’ll take care of it._”

“What?”

_“I still haven’t answered your mother’s proposal. Does she take you out to meetings with her?_”

“Sometimes.” Ten sat up, knocking the blanket to the floor. “If she thinks she’s going to have a lot of work to do, she’ll have me take notes.”

“_Then I’ll make sure that happens. Just bring your book with you and be ready to talk, okay?_”

“Okay.” Nerves jangled through him. Ten bent to pick up his blanket; it was still cold in here. “Thank you.”

Yuta chuckled. “_Don’t thank me, I’m doing this just as much for myself as I am for you._”

“Still.” Ten stuck out his chin even though Yuta wasn’t there to see it. “You’re going above and beyond for me. I think that deserves my thanks.”

He laughed again. “_Okay. Thank you for cooperating with me._”

Ten waved that off. “Am I keeping you from something?”

“_Only boring evening news?_”

They chatted a bit more before Yuta let him go. Ten barely managed to fall asleep even after he crawled into bed, wishing it was the meeting day already.

***

Ten followed his mother into the lobby of Hades’ office building. Like the brand, the building was gorgeous, elegant black accented in gold. The lobby was expansive, solid marbled columns flanking tasteful decorations and arrangements around the available seats. It suited _Porta Nuova_. The main reception desk directly faced the door. Demeter strolled right up. Ten kept just close enough not to get lost. “Demeter for Hades, at noon.”

The receptionist gave a tight smile, typing away at something. “Thank you for coming today. Mr. Nakamoto would like to see you up in his office.” She glanced past them and raised her voice slightly. “Renjun can show you the way.”

A slim man turned at what was probably the sound of his name. “Am I on now?”

The receptionist nodded. “Demeter is here.”

Renjun gave a bright smile—as tight as the receptionist’s—and strode over. “Yes, of course. Thank you for coming by. Yuta asked me to give you a quick tour since I believe it’s your first time in the building?”

“It is, yes.” She shook his hand with more enthusiasm than Ten would have expected. “Thank you.”

“In fact …” He looked around, then waved. “Jaemin! Donghyuck!” Two other men, one about Renjun’s height, one taller, hurried over. “This is Jaemin,” he indicated the taller, pink-haired one, “and this is Donghyuck.” The shorter, with silver hair, waved. “They know more about certain parts of the building, so we’d like to give you the tour together.”

“This is such a nice gesture.” She followed the three past the lobby, never looking back at Ten. Ten fell into step behind the group. The tour wasn’t meant for him, but he absorbed information anyway, peering around as they walked. The first floor was all offices, clean and sleek with the newest technology available.

Renjun dropped back to walk next to Ten. “When we get to the next floor,” he spoke very quietly, but they were also passing the cafeteria at lunch hour, so it was probably safe. “Take a right instead of a left when we turn. Yuta will be waiting to talk to you. We’ll bring your mother to his office when we’re done and if she notices you weren’t there the whole time you can just say you got lost; it happens all the time.”

How far was Yuta going for this? Ten stepped around a statue of a satyr. “Thank you.”

Renjun smiled at him. “No need to thank me. Just listen to Yuta before you decide anything, okay?”

Ten nodded.

As he’d been instructed, he took went right when the rest turned left. Renjun hadn’t said where to go after that, but there didn’t seem to be any available rooms so he kept walking until he reached the open room at the end of the hall. It was a small break room. Yuta lounged at a little table in front of a kitchenette. He hopped up upon spotting Ten.

“Ten! Thank you for coming.” Yuta shook his hand. The touch was electric. “I’m sorry we’re doing this in the break room, but I wanted to make sure it was somewhere your mother wouldn’t think to look into.”

“I—of course? I said I would. This is fine.”

“I know, but still. Sit, sit.” Yuta got Ten into a chair. “Do you want anything to drink?”

“Water? Water would be nice, I think.”

Yuta got him a glass and some cold water from the fridge.

“Thank you.” Ten took a sip of water before setting down the glass. “So what exactly do you want to talk about?”

Yuta didn’t immediately sit down. He wandered around the room. Ten stopped himself from grimacing when Yuta picked up an apple from the basket on the counter. He probably wouldn’t offer, but still. “I want you to work with me.”

“Yes, you’ve said that. But what do you mean? You want me to come be a designer? I don’t have any training.” Should he have admitted that? It wasn’t anything Yuta couldn’t find on his own. “My mother wouldn’t let me go to school for design.”

Yuta waved a hand. “That’s not as important.” He finally sat back at the table. “Your ability, the actual designs, are what’s important to me, not where you learned to do them.”

Ten frowned. “That doesn’t make sense. I run paperwork for most of my mother’s company; she never hires someone without a deep look into their resume and background in fashion.”

Yuta leaned onto his forearms. “How much do you know about how my company is run?”

Ten played with the edges of his sketchbook. “You run a major fashion design company. I’m not a business executive, but I would assume your company is run similarly to my mother’s?”

“In some aspects, I’m sure it is. But I value results over paper qualifications. And designers work with me personally. I screen them myself. I wouldn’t allow someone whose skills I didn’t trust into my company.”

“And you really want_ me_?”

“Yes.” Yuta leaned in further. “Do you really not believe you’re a good artist?”

Ten drew in on himself. “It’s not that. I’m good, sure, but Hades is the best in the industry. And I’m supposed to believe that, on no verifiable experience, I’m good enough for that?”

“Yes.” It was insane, but the intensity in Yuta’s gaze and the tension in his frame was impossible to doubt. He held out a hand. “Can I see your sketchbook?”

It still felt strange to let it out of his hands. Ten passed it over. Yuta flipped to the dress Ten had been sketching the day they met. “This is a grade above anything I’ve seen your mother put out recently. It’s flowery like her brand, but subtle and visually pleasing.” He traced over the dress straps. “Especially here, where it would be easy to overload the eye. But you know that, don’t you? You do it instinctively.” He returned it. “We don’t have much time, so I don’t know what else I can use to convince you. But I’m deathly serious.”

Ten hugged the book to his chest. “I believe you.” What else could he do? “What exactly are you offering me?”

“I want you to join the Underworld.”

The wire spirals on his notebook left impressions in his skin. “You want me to work for you? Not just in your company?”

Yuta laughed, but it wasn’t unkind. “I want you to work with me, yes. What do you know about the Underworld?”

Ten shrugged. “As much as the next person. I know it’s your personal team of designers.” He knew they were whispered about all over the industry. Sicheng had met them, but even he didn’t talk about them much.

Yuta nodded. “My personal team, yes. What that means is that each of them works with me, collaboratively, as a designer. They’re given free rein. I’m not their boss, not in the sense that I approve or deny their projects. We work together, and whoever works on a particular project is credited and paid for it. I want you to join us.”

“I—” Ten licked his lips. “That sounds like a dream.”

“I’d like it to be more than that. What do you want?”

“My mother will never allow it. She’d throw a fit if she even knew I’d spoken to you.”

Yuta stood and stepped in front of Ten’s seat. He knelt, putting himself below Ten’s eye level. “I don’t care what your mother wants. If you don’t want this, tell me no and I’ll leave you alone. You’ll never have to worry about me again. But if you do want it, tell me now and I’ll make it happen.”

Yuta’s eyes drew him in, promising a world he’d never allowed himself to truly imagine. What was more important, his mother or his freedom?

“I want to.” Ten stood. Yuta stood to meet him, very close. “But I don’t know how you’re going to manage it. My mother won’t let me go. She manages every part of my life—my job, my money—she even controls my rent. If I try to leave, she’ll know and she’ll stop me.”

Yuta grinned, wild and dangerous. “I’ll just have to kidnap you then, won’t I?”

Were they really doing this? Ten giggled. It was almost like being drunk. “I guess you will.”

They shook on it.

“Come on, then.” Yuta led him out of the room and down the hall. Tasteful pieces of art dotted the walls every few feet. “We probably won’t be able to get away with your mom not noticing that we’re together, but we can just say you got lost and I found you on my way up.”

Ten followed as they hurried to meet the group at the end of the hall. They did use that excuse, and his mother seemed to buy it. Ten focused on taking notes as Yuta led his mother on a merry chase without ever committing to something. He deflected the few questions his mother asked before she dropped him off. He buzzed through the rest of his day without really processing anything, except informing his friends of his impending ‘capture.’

***

Yuta grabbed his keys from the coffee table. “And you’re sure everything is done?”

Taeyong rolled his eyes from Kun’s lap. The Underworld had gathered to mock him before he set out on his kidnapping. The workspace had enough couches that Xiaojun, Renjun, Jaemin, and Donghyuck could have sat spread out and still not impinged on Kun and Taeyong’s space, but the two never stopped cuddling anyway. The sunset colored their hair lightly through the wall-to-wall windows Xiaojun had insisted on installing. “Yes, Yuta, everything is arranged. Xiaojun is finishing rearranging the offices now so there’s space. Your secretary left the paperwork on your desk for tomorrow. I assume you have the living quarters taken care of already?”

Yuta nodded. “It’s taken care of.” He suppressed the jitters that tried to take him over. Everything would be fine.

“Then that’s everything. Calm down and go get the poor boy, he’s probably more worried than you are.”

Given the way Ten kept staring at him, that was probably true. “That’s true.” He ruffled Taeyong’s hair. “Thanks.”

Taeyong shoved him toward the door. “Just go.”

Yuta booked it down to his Lamborghini. The Moirai liked to tease him for keeping it black, “like he didn’t have enough of that,” but he liked the color. The drive to Ten’s apartment was quiet, just after sunset when everyone had already gone home. Ten’s building appeared well-cared for amidst a block of shabbier spaces. Why would she stash him in such a place? Yuta pulled up in front of the apartment building. For all her control over Ten’s life, Demeter hadn’t actually installed cameras at Ten’s place, so he had felt safe telling Yuta to pull up to the front. He texted Ten.

Ten appeared through the sliding doors, rolling a small suitcase with a backpack slung over his shoulder. A pair of glasses, perched on his nose, only enhanced the lines of his face. Yuta rolled the front window down to wave Ten over. Ten hurried over and ducked to peek through the window. “Nice car. Where should I put my stuff?”

“That looks small enough that it could go in the backseat.” Yuta got out to hold the door. Ten brushed by him to load. He smelled like flowers. Yuta backed away. “Is that everything?”

Ten slid in the suitcase and shut the door. “Yes. There’s not much I’m attached to here.”

Yuta opened the passenger’s seat for him. “Let’s get to fixing that, then.”

Ten didn’t seem to hear him, busy marveling at the inside of the car. He seemed particularly fascinated with the dash and started pressing different buttons. It was cute. Yuta got back in and pulled away from the curb.

***

Ten fidgeted in his seat as Yuta drove. Buildings slid by the windows. He barely registered them. Yuta glanced over when they reached a stoplight. The streetlight behind him almost made him glow. “Are you okay?”

Ten shrugged. “Just worried about what’s going to happen.”

“Did you leave anything for her when you left?”

“Yeah. I didn’t mention any of this. I just left a note telling her that I needed to “find myself” and that I’d be leaving the company. I took out enough money that I could have bought a plane ticket, so who knows what she thinks. But she shouldn’t think of you immediately.”

“Then it’ll be fine.” Yuta seemed to hesitate before patting his shoulder. It wasn’t the first time they’d touched, but the gesture seemed to spark through his clothes. “You’re an adult, you’re allowed to take the opportunities you want. And it doesn’t sound like she had you there under entirely ethical terms, so you’re even more within your rights to leave.”

“I guess.” Ten took deep breaths through the impact of what they were doing. Yuta pulled up to a tall, imposing apartment building. Like most other things Ten associated with Yuta, the building was sleek, black, and modern. He gaped at the name scrolled across the front. “You live in Elysium?”

“Yeah, on the top floor.” Yuta parked. “I have a spare room, and I figured you’d be safest here where I know the security is good, at least until you find somewhere you’d prefer to live. Is that alright?” He looked over, fingers tapping against the steering wheel.

Was he worried? Ten gave Yuta a smile. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

He followed Yuta into the lobby. It was elegant, smooth black furnishings over a floor that almost seemed made from black ice, it was so slick. The man at the desk waved. His nametag read “Charon.” He seemed very quiet, not speaking as he produced a key for Ten to use and signed him into the approved entrants list. The elevator ride was long but blissfully quiet.

Yuta unlocked the door to his apartment. He stepped back to allow Ten in first. Ten crossed the threshold into what felt like a whole new world. Yuta’s apartment fit the theme of the building; dark hardwood floors stretched away from Ten’s feet to a living room larger than his old apartment. The soft grey carpet contrasted the black leather couch and appliances. Yuta had mounted a TV on the opposite wall, with large windows catty-corner covered by sheer black cloth blinds. He could turn left into a large kitchen, or right to a long hallway. Ten rolled his suitcase to a stop and set his backpack on top of it. It felt like he could rest here.

Yuta joined him. “Have you had dinner?”

Ten nodded. “I ate before I met up with you.” He yawned. “I’m sorry. Honestly, the only thing I want to do is sleep.” It had been a long day even before the ‘_kidnapping._’

“Of course.” Yuta moved past him. “Let me show you your room, and then I’ll leave you be.”

Yuta led him down the hall, pointing out various rooms as they went. They stopped just before the end of the hall. Yuta pointed at the doorway that ended it. “That’s my room. Yours is here.” Yuta opened the door catty-corner to his own room. Ten stepped in. This room was lighter than the others, helped by the large open windows. Yuta had an odd taste in guest beds—a royal double bed with a gauzy cover drifting from the posts and a light blue sheet set—but it was nice. The other furniture was pretty standard, a dresser and desk as well as a few lamps.

“I’ll let you get some rest.” Yuta leaned on the door. “Work starts at nine. I’m usually out of here early enough to be early to work, so you can get up whenever you want but we’ll probably leave a little after eight.”

Ten nodded. What did he say to that? 

Yuta said goodnight. He closed the door behind him when he left. Ten parked his suitcase in front of the dresser and began unpacking. He had packed most of his favorite clothes—which weren’t many since his wardrobe had always consisted mostly of boring business work clothes—a few business outfits, and a suit or two. Unpacking didn’t take long. Ten took his toiletries, dropped his backpack next to the bed, and poked around for one of the bathrooms. He ran through his nightly routine as quickly as possible; he hadn’t lied to Yuta that he just wanted to sleep.

Ten crawled into his new bed. The sheets were heavenly soft. This room wasn’t home, either, but it would do. He picked at the bedspread. Would his mother be angry? Would she find him? He turned on his side. There should be anything tying him to Yuta. But if she did, would Yuta get in trouble? 

There was no use worrying about it. Ten resettled himself against the pillows. He wanted to have a good day at work tomorrow.

***

Yuta breezed through showing Ten the lower levels of the company since he remembered the early part of the tour from last time. They went down that left turn he had missed before. This hall, too, had plenty of art on the walls. Ten stopped by one piece.

“I didn’t get to look at these last time.” The small painting depicted a wide river cutting through a sprawling plain; small figures lined up behind one who knelt to drink from it. “Where did you get all of these?”

Yuta came up behind him. “Some we get at art shows or from dealers. Some we get from individual artists. This one,” he squinted, “I think Renjun did this one.”

“Renjun from the tour the other day?” Ten turned sharply.

Yuta nodded as they moved briskly down the hall. He pointed out a few more offices as they passed, but nothing Ten needed to be aware of. “Yeah, he dabbles in other art.”

“Other art? Is he not with the administrative staff? I thought that was why he and the others were giving the tour.”

“Oh.” Yuta chuckled. “They must not have introduced themselves. No, Renjun, Jaemin, and Donghyuck volunteered to tour you, but that’s not their normal job.” Yuta paused at a doorway to let Ten through first. “You’ll get to meet them again in a few minutes, actually. They’re known as the Moirai by the industry.”

“Those three were the Moirai?” The opaque trio who had taken the industry by storm were the same three who had faked his mother out so easily?

Yuta chuckled. “Yes. They’re young for it, but they’re an incredible team.”

They walked into an open space with several doors leading off it. It looked like a clothier’s workshop dream. Samples were piled over a small table by the windows that stretched wall to wall. A mannequin stood in the corner with a half-ade clothing piece pinned to it. Several large couches circled a wide coffee table. Books—printed books, notebooks, sketchbooks—spread across the table with a plethora of drawing pencils and draft paper. Someone had left their tablet in the center. Yuta waved. “Welcome to the Underworld. Or at least our office space.”

“This is where you work?”

“This is where _we _work, on design.” Yuta pointed. “The team’s personal offices are along the walls here. There’s also a back hallway through that door opposite us that leads right to my reception area. Anyone can and everyone does use this space as they please.” Yuta led Ten to one of the open doors nearest them. “This will be your office. Do you want to leave your stuff here or take it with you?”

The empty office seemed utilitarian; he could fix that later. Ten left his bag and sketchbooks on the desk.

Yuta took him straight through the workroom to the hall that led to his office. “I asked them all to wait in my office,” he explained. “Since we need to end up there anyway. I thought it might be better than having someone surprise us and startle you.”

“Thanks.” He wasn’t sure which would have been more nerve-wracking. At least this way it would be over quickly.

Yuta’s office looked just like he remembered, an imposing desk surrounded by an odd number of chairs and tables and walled by bookshelves. Six men sat in various seats around the room. He recognized Renjun, Donghyuck, and Jaemin—the Moirai—debating something on the couch. A man about their age curled into an armchair nearby almost like a statue with the book he held.

The other two—slightly older, of similar builds, cuddling on a loveseat—turned to look as they entered. They shared Donghyuck’s silver hair, though one kept his in a simple short cut and the other had worked his up over his head. The shorter of the two pulled the other over by the hand. He wore a bright smile as they approached. “Hi. You must be Ten. I’m Taeyong. This is my boyfriend, Kun.”

Kun gave him a more measured smile. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Was beauty a requirement to be part of the Underworld? He couldn’t think so, but what was with all the handsome men? “Hi?”

Yuta laughed. “Hold your horses, Yong. You might recognize these two more as Thanatos,” he indicated Taeyong, “and Hecate,” he gestured to Kun, “respectively.”

The names weren’t a surprise, but it was still surreal to put faces to the names he’d heard whispered for years. Ten greeted them before Yuta drew them away. They seemed seemed genuinely happy as they waved him off. Yuta stopped in front of the bickering trio. “You met the Moirai the last time you were here, but officially—Jaemin, Renjun, Donghyuck.” The three turned as one to greet him. That was a little eerie.

The other man looked up from his book when they approached. He waved. Ten waved back.

“This is Xiaojun,” Yuta paused at the armchair. “Also known as Styx.”

Xiaojun nodded. “Welcome to the Underworld.”

“It’s good to meet you.”

“You, too.” He turned back to his book. 

Yuta shook his head. “I’m sure you’ve heard other names associated with us—the Erinyes, Nyx, and so on—but most of them work at branches rather than this office. You’ll meet them later.”

“Is Nyx coming to visit soon?” Taeyong asked as he ambled over. “I miss her.”

“You can just call her Wendy, you know.” Yuta wrinkled his nose when Taeyong stuck his tongue out. “Maybe. You’d have to ask her.”

Taeyong shrugged. “It would be nice to see her, is all.” He turned to Ten. Only slightly taller, when he wasn’t moving or smiling Taeyong looked more imposing, especially under the silver undercut he sported. But he smiled so much, the effect was ruined immediately. “I’m so glad you were able to join us. How are you feeling? Has Yuta been nice to you? He usually is, but I’m sure this has all been overwhelming.”

“A bit, yeah.” Ten stepped away from Yuta. “I suppose it wasn’t a very normal way to join, either.”

Taeyong shook his head, but before he could presumably fill Ten in on how he had joined the company, the Moirai were scrambling to talk over him. Three heads pushed into their conversation, brown, pink, and silver all mixing with Taeyong’s colors until Ten lost the threads of what they were saying. He edge back toward Yuta’s side.

“Okay, okay, don’t crowd him.” Yuta shooed them off. “We still have paperwork to go over. There’s plenty of time to get to know each other.”

They collectively grumbled, but trooped out of the office, Taeyong tucking himself into Kun’s side as they went. Xiaojun wandered after them with his book. Ten breathed a little easier. “Thanks.”

“It looked like you were a little overloaded.” Yuta went to his desk. “They can be a lot all at once, but I hope you’ll get along.”

“I’m sure we will.” Ten edged closer to see what Yuta was messing with.

He smiled. “That would be good.” Yuta picked up a packet of paper. “I didn’t lie, though, we have to go over these.”

HR paperwork turned out to be long and annoying, but Yuta was very patient with him. They went over his work history again, his personal information, the terms of his job. Ten almost didn’t believe the number printed under _salary_, but Yuta insisted it was standard and threatened to call in all three of the Moirai to confirm it. Ten signed the papers quickly after that.

“All right, I think we’re done.”

Ten sat back with a sigh. “So I’m officially employed.”

Yuta grinned. “You are.” He stood with the papers. “I have to take these down to HR. Do you want to get settled in your office?”

“That would be good.” He followed Yuta out. He could use a few minutes to himself.

***

His new office felt like a blank slate. A desk, a few chairs, a low table with a small couch—all well-made, but still bland. He could put in whatever he wanted. Ten set his bag in the desk chair and spread out his sketchbooks over the table. Where should he even begin?

Someone knocked.

“Come in?”

Taeyong peeked around the edge of the door. “Hello again.”

“Hi.”

“Yuta said to let you settle in, but we thought you might get lonely in here by yourself.”

Ten straightened. “We?”

Kun stuck his head in over Taeyong’s. “We means me, too. Hi.”

He waved. “I was just thinking ‘what do I do now?’ So it’s appreciated.”

Kun just smiled at him. Taeyong peered around the office. His whole face lit up when he spotted Ten’s sketchbooks. “Are those your designs? Can we see?”

“Um.” He’d forgotten that part of doing this would be showing real designers his work, all the time. Ten brushed the sketchbook at the top of the stack. He’d have to get used to it at some point. “Sure.” He waved them in. Ten rifled through the sketchbooks for his newest one. It was the best.

Taeyong seemed to be vibrating by the table waiting for the book. Kun came up behind him. He seemed to be watching Ten closely. “Are you sure this is okay? You don’t have to show us anything you’re not ready for.” He smoothed a hand down Taeyong’s arm.

Taeyong seemed to settle under Kun’s touch. “Oh, absolutely. Please don’t feel like you have to show us anything you’re not comfortable with. I’d love to look at your work, but it’s really fine if you don’t want to yet. We want you to be comfortable.”

“No, it’s okay.” Ten arranged the older books into a pile. “I’m just not used to showing people my work. I don’t mind you looking.”

Kun and Taeyong both cocked their heads. He braced himself, but maybe Yuta had already told them something, because neither asked. Taeyong just reached for the book and flipped it open. Kun peeked over his shoulder. They flipped through the book. Taeyong stopped to coo over the ball gown Yuta had been fascinated with that first day. “Oh, I love this.”

“Really?”

“Of course!” Taeyong looked up. “These are all really good, I just think this one is my favorite. It’s the kind of thing I’d love to see on a model.”

“You’re very talented.” Kun glanced up, too. “You really never had any training?”

Ten gripped the edge of the desk. He shook his head. “My mother never let me. I did catch tidbits from watching her, but nothing formal.”

“That’s a shame.” Taeyong was still playing with Ten’s sketch. “Think of all the designs you could have done for her, and she wastes you on paperwork?”

Kun looked a bit apprehensive, but Ten laughed. “I know, right? I don’t even know why she didn’t want me working there.” He had an inkling, but he wasn’t about to share that with near-strangers.

“Well.” Taeyong picked up the book, cradling it in his arms like a baby. “Have you thought about what you want to do for your debut collection? There’s no rush, I’m sure, but it looks like you have a lot of material to work with.”

“I hadn’t, really.” Ten tapped the stack of older books. “I do have a lot to sort through. I know how things worked at my mother’s company, but I don’t really know the process here? Yuta made it sound like the Underworld is different than even the rest of his company.”

“Yes.” Kun pulled Taeyong to sit on the little couch. He waved Ten over. “We’re a much more free-rein, collaborative environment here. Since you’re a new entrant, you’ll need a name to work under, and you’ll want to have a debut collection associated only with you. As you work more, we’ll all be more likely to collaborate, but the first collection should be solely you to establish your brand as distinct from the rest of us.”

Taeyong nodded, flipping between different pages of the sketchbook. “We’ll want to get it out sooner rather than later to establish you, but that doesn’t mean you should rush into anything.”

Ten nodded slowly. “How would that fit into the already-established schedule?”

They shrugged. “We’ll make it work.”

“If Yuta wanted you badly enough to sneak you in here,” Kun added, “he’ll make sure your work goes through properly. I’d focus on figuring out how you want to be known.”

Taeyong nodded, but he seemed preoccupied. He bit his lip, glancing at the other sketchbooks. “Would it be bad if I wanted to see some of those? We could maybe help you sort through them for a more cohesive set of drawings.”

A hand extended. Ten grabbed the stack and dropped them on the table. Kun and Taeyong both took a sketchbook; Kun produced a set of sticky note tabs from somewhere, “so we can flag the ones we like,” and even gave them each different colors. Ten settled into his chair with another book as they set to work. He could get used to this.

***

Ten would have startled at Yuta’s tap on his open office door if he hadn’t already seen Yuta coming. He had started out with the door closed, but people checked on him enough that he had given up. The better airflow was nice, too.

“Hi.” Yuta leaned on the door. Every time they had met before this, Yuta had worn a suit, but apparently he dressed more casually when he didn’t have to leave the safety of his offices. The suits made him look unfairly sharp. The casual clothes made him look almost touchable.

Ten coughed. “Hi. What’s up?”

“I wanted to see how you’re settling in.”

Ten waved Yuta into the office. “We see each other every day, I think you already have a sense of how I’m settling in?” Yuta sat in one of the chairs by Ten’s desk. It was a slightly odd image, Yuta in a guest seat while Ten sat behind a desk. “What’s going on?”

Yuta peered around. “I like the new decorations.”

Ten tried not to flush. He had been hanging up sketches he enjoyed as he worked his way through the stack of books. “Thank you.”

“Anyway, have you given any thought to the pieces you would like to make into a collection? Or what you’d like the collection to center around?”

A collection—_ His_ collection. It still sent a thrill down Ten’s spine. “Kind of? Taeyong and Kun came by the other day after you first introduced me around, and helped me start sorting through old designs. They also started telling me how this all works here. Taeyong said I already have a good portion of what could become a collection designed because a lot of the sketches I showed him are thematically connected.”

Yuta cocked his head. He single earring dangled. “You don’t sound sure.”

He shrugged. “I just never thought about it like that when I was sketching. It was for fun then, but I guess I had something in mind even if I didn’t realize it.”

“Were the sketches I saw in the ones you showed them?”

Ten nodded. “I just don’t know what the theme is supposed to be? Aside from some kind of connected color.”

Yuta hummed. He leaned back in the chair. “From what I remember, you have a lot of seasonally themed pieces with dark accents? Which is an interesting theme because a lot of people associate spring with light colors only. You seem to be embodying the idea that spring is bright, but it never lasts.”

“Oh.” He’d never thought about it like that. “I like that.”

“Do you think that’s something you’d want to work with?”

Ten nodded. “I really like that idea.”

Yuta grinned. He had such an infectious smile. “Great. Then let’s go through what you already have so you know where you’re starting. We need about twenty-five pieces for a solid debut collection. I don’t think you have all of those unless there are more drawings you didn’t show me, but it would be a good place to build from. Then you can work on creating something intentionally cohesive.”

“Makes sense.” Ten pulled out the tagged sketchbooks. “Where do we start?”

***

Yuta clapped Jungwoo on the shoulder on his way out of their meeting. They never needed to work for very long; Jungwoo was a very reasonable critic, so mostly they met for scheduling. He checked the time as Jungwoo slipped around the corner toward the Underworld offices. He might just follow Jungwoo. Yuta ducked into his own reception area. Doyoung waited in a chair, reading an excerpt from his own _Athenian _magazine. Yuta stopped in front of him. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to talk to you.” Doyoung set aside the magazine and stood. “Do you have a minute?”

“Do I have a minute?” Yuta turned to ask his secretary. She honestly frightened him a little; he had, at her request, never looked at the legal name she signed her paperwork with, so he only knew moniker she asked to go by in her interview (Cerberus), and she was very attached to a small statue of a three-headed dog on her desk. But she kept his building running like clockwork and she’d never given him reason to worry.

She nodded. “You have fifteen, in fact.”

“Come in, then.” He led Doyoung back into his office. Doyoung wandered to the stash of manga he kept in the corner behind his desk and started poking through it. “I know you’re not here for my reading material. What does Athena want to talk about?”

Doyoung glared at him. “Would you stop it with that?”

“No, it’s funny.”

Doyoung rolled his eyes. “Anyway. You have a new designer, yes?”

Word had spread fast. Yuta leaned against his desk. “Yes. What about it?”

Doyoung shrugged, toying with one of Yuta’s volumes. “People are wondering who it is. And Demeter seems agitated lately.” The book almost tumbled from his hand, though he caught it. “You mentioned going to talk to her about a proposal recently. Those wouldn’t be connected, would they?”

Yuta shrugged, playing nonchalant. “I wouldn’t know why Demeter’s upset.” It wasn’t technically a lie; he could guess why, but he didn’t actually know.

Doyoung raised an eyebrow. Yuta grinned back.

“You’re up to something again.”

Yuta grinned. “Even if I was, would you want to know?”

He considered. “Probably not.” Doyoung frowned. “Be careful, alright? Demeter’s powerful, even if she’s been in a slump recently.”

Oh, Yuta remembered the fear that sometimes flashed over Ten’s face. “I know.” Yuta caught Doyoung by the wrist as he passed by. “It’s worth it. The thing you don’t want to know if I’m doing.”

Doyoung inspected him. Eventually, he gave a small smile. “I’ll leave you to it, then.”

Yuta hugged him. Doyoung put up with it for a few moments before he wriggled away.

“So, did you want to talk about actual work?”

Doyoung waved. “No, if I have a pitch for you I’ll do it through official channels.”

“So ethical, Doyoungie.”

Doyoung flipped him off and headed for the door. He paused. “You know this already, but if you’ve done what I think you might have—you’d better give him a good name.”

Yes. Yuta wandered to the Underworld after Doyoung left. Taeyong was showing Ten his newest sketches while Kun sketched the two of them. Jaemin stood stock-still as Donghyuck and Renjun bickered over the best way to pin the cloth that hung over his frame. Xiaojun had disappeared somewhere. Ten needed a good name.

Ten noticed him watching and excused himself from the others to come over. The chain he’d hung from his helix piercing swung as he walk. “What’s up?”

“Have you thought about your pseud?”

Ten blinked. “My what?”

“Your pseudonym. Your work name.” Yuta waved around. “We all may call each other regularly, but we came up with the name our collections are logged under. Yours will be especially important.” He couldn’t prevent everything that might crash down on them, but he could try to hold it off.

Ten nodded slowly. “Yes. I think …” he trailed off.

“Go on.” Yuta put a hand on Ten’s arm. Unlike his mother’s, his skin was so warm. “If you have an idea, I want to hear it.”

“This might not be the most fitting?” Ten bit his lip. “But I was thinking … Persephone?”

“Persephone.” Yuta tested it, rolling the syllables on his tongue. “I like it. It suits you.” It had the added benefit of sounding feminine, which would throw people off Ten’s scent at least for a while.

Ten grinned. “I’m glad you think so. So you’ll just use that name to register my work?”

Yuta nodded. “You’re on HR’s paperwork under your real name. That won’t change, but your signature, credits, everything in the public eye will be under Persephone, like Taeyong is under Thanatos or I’m under Hades.” Behind them, Taeyong appeared to be getting ready to pounce. Yuta slid his hand off Ten’s arm. “Speaking of Taeyong, I think he wants to talk to you again. You’d better get back before he gets upset.”

Ten glanced over. “Oh, no, you’re right. I’ll see you later tonight, then?”

Why did that sound so nice? “Of course.”

Ten disappeared back to the couch. Yuta headed back to his office for a meeting. Even though he loved his job, today he couldn’t wait to go home.

***

Once they had culled the proper sketches from his books—about fifteen developed before he ever came here, which everyone assured him was impressive—Ten got to really start creating. He’d never sketched in front of other people before, so he started out in his office, but the open creative space just outside was too tempting. The first time he ventured out, Kun smiled at him and Taeyong waved, but neither pushed him to do anything. Ten settled on a couch with a sketchbook in his lap and just drew.

Sketch after sketch after sketch. He built around this idea which had apparently been living in his head for ages without him even realizing; it was more freeing than he would have thought. He threw out countless pages, but the ones he kept were worth it.

Sometimes Kun and Taeyong came to talk to him, or just sit with him. He liked sitting near them while they worked. The Moirai seemed to move as one bickering unit, ranging everywhere as they worked on whatever project their project was. Ten couldn’t quite decipher it and was almost afraid to ask. Xiaojun remained an enigma; he came and went at odd hours and never showed anyone what he was working on, but bickered with the Moirai at the drop of a hat and cozied up to Kun or Taeyong whenever he felt like it.

Finally, he had collected another ten sketches he liked. Ten took over space on the ground in front of the couches and spread all the sketches out in front of him. Something was not quite right, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. The sketches all seemed to match each other on some level, but it felt like something was missing. He shifted papers around, looking for an answer.

“What are you doing?” Jaemin dropped to sit in front of Ten’s mess of papers. “Does the floor help you think or something?”

The Moirai still confused him. Jaemin seemed to be the most reasonable, but only by a small margin. Ten straightened. “It helps me see everything better, actually. I guess I could do it on a table.”

“What do you need to see?” Jaemin bent over one of the sketches.

“Something’s not right.” Ten nudged Jaemin upright so he could move the sketches around again. “I don’t know what it is exactly. It feels like something’s missing.”

“Hmm.” He clambered around to sit next to Ten, right up against his side. No one but Taeyong had bothered to do that since he had made friends with Jeno and Sicheng during his first year at his mother’s company. Ten leaned into it. “Let’s see.” He started moving things around the way Ten had. Ten let him, sitting back on his hands. Maybe the genius designer would be able to spot it.

“I think I see what you mean.” Jaemin sat up. “I don’t know what to call it exactly, but there is something small missing, I think.” He leaned forward to get his torso past the edge of the couch they sat near. “Hyuckie! Come here.”

Ten raised his eyebrows. “What can he see that you can’t?”

Jaemin shrugged. “Plenty of things, I’m sure, but about clothes? He’s really good at spotting little details. I’m more of a big-picture thinker.”

Jaemin had to call again, but Donghyuck eventually showed up, pulling airpods out of his ears. “What?”

“Come look at this,” Jaemin waved him down. “Ten’s got all of his drafts for the collection, but we both think something’s missing.”

Donghyuck plopped in front of the pile. He picked up the closest sketch and brought it close to his face. When he was done, he set that sketch aside and picked up the next one. He repeated the process until he had gone through every page on the floor. He sat back, staring at a point above their heads.

Ten opened his mouth. Jaemin gently covered it and shook his head. They waited.

“You need some kind of accent in the pattern,” Donghyuck said finally. “These are really nice, and they do match on a certain level, but something really small to tie them all together would make it feel cohesive.” He nodded decisively. “That’s what you’re missing.”

“Ah.” Ten sifted through a few of the pages. He could see places to adjust the drawings, spots that felt emptier. “That makes sense. Thank you.”

Dongyhuck grinned. “Sure. Now feed me, I worked hard.”

“What?”

“You heard me.” He pointed to the clock. “It’s nearly lunchtime. I’ve been working really hard and I even saved your project just now. Don’t you think I deserve some food?”

Ten’s eye twitched. “I suppose that’s fair.” He stashed his sketches in his office and followed the other two toward the door.

Jaemin reached out as they walked to grab Renjun by the shoulder. “Come eat with us, Renjunnie.”

Renjun grumbled as he dropped his materials. “I was busy, couldn’t you have stopped for lunch at a more convenient time?”

“Aren’t you still coming along with us?” Donghyuck pointed out, squishing up to Renjun from the other side. “You’re hungry, aren’t you?”

Renjun poked him, but Donghyuck didn’t move. Between him and Jaemin, they frogmarched Renjun toward the elevators. Renjun rolled his eyes, but allowed it as Ten kept pace with them. He’d never really eaten in the area, so he allowed the younger ones to choose where they went. Even though they got a small booth, Jaemin and Donghyuck kept Renjun squished between them.

“I don’t think he’s going to run away at this point,” Ten settled the cloth napkin on his lap. “You can probably let him breathe.”

“Thank you.” Renjun elbowed them both until he had a little more room. “I don’t know why you two felt the need to do that.”

Jaemin pulled an innocent face. “We just wanted to make sure you got lunch. You could have worked right through the hour and never noticed.”

“I don’t do that,” Renjun told Ten. “They just like to think I do that.”

Ten laughed. This wasn’t so bad.

***

Yuta curled next to Ten on the Underworld couch safely away from the sun’s glare with a sketchbook in his lap. They sat a few inches apart, but Ten seemed to radiate both light and heat, reaching him despite the divide. The Moirai flitted in and out, doing whatever it was they needed for that project. For once, Kun and Taeyong worked separately in their own offices. Xiaojun worked on a tablet opposite them, turned sideways away from the sun.

Xiaojun startled up, looking at his phone. He was very good at keeping his face impassive, but he couldn’t hide the way his skin flushed, then paled.

“Are you okay?” Yuta set aside his sketchbook.

Xiaojun nodded. He put aside the tablet to stand. “Yeah. I just—I have to go take care of something. I’ll be back after lunch, okay?”

“Yes, of course. Go.” 

Xiaojun went. Ten turned to watch him leave. “Is everything okay?”

Yuta sighed. “I don’t know exactly. There’s something he’s not telling us, but he doesn’t seem to be in too much trouble?”

“Hm.” Ten stared after him.

Yuta checked the time. “Did you eat before I came down here? It’s almost past lunchtime.”

“Don’t worry about me.” Ten waved. “There’s food somewhere.”

Yuta turned on him. “That doesn’t sound like you ate.”

“What?” Ten’s stomach growled.

Yuta pointed at him. “So you haven’t eaten yet! Did you even bring a lunch?”

“I—” his ears turned pink. “Maybe I got distracted.”

“Well, that won’t do.” Yuta stood and offered Ten a hand up. “Come on.”

“Come on where?” Ten glanced between Yuta’s hand and his face. He gripped his new sketchbook.

“Lunch.” He had no idea why this felt momentous. “I need to go look at our shop in the _quadrilatero_ anyway, and there are good restaurants there. We can eat and then you can get to see our shops from the seller’s end.”

“You want to take me to lunch?”

Yuta wiggled his fingers. “You gotta eat, Ten.”

Ten seemed to make a choice before he set down his sketchbook. He took Yuta’s hand. As always, it felt like a little spark jumped between between them. Yuta pulled Ten out of the office by their joined hands. He had to let go to get in the car. Ten seemed preoccupied as they drove, playing with his fingers. The _quadrilatero della moda_ wasn’t far. He parked behind one of his favorite restaurants that kept their second floor for private dining. It cost extra, but the view was nice and Ten might enjoy it.

When the waiter left after filling their glasses, Ten leaned onto the table. “What’s up with Xiaojun?” he asked again. “It’s not just today. It seems like every time I want to talk to him, he’s running into or out of the office.”

“Ah.” Yuta fiddled with his glass. “We don’t know for sure. Xiaojun is a bit of an enigma. He doesn’t go by his legal name. I only know it because he had to sign it on is paperwork. He’s attached to the group, but he clearly has something pulling him away. He’ll talk when he’s ready, I guess.”

“How did he come to work for you?” Ten cocked his head. The afternoon sun glinted off of his piercings. Yuta had never gotten the chance to ask about those.

“He was an interesting case.” Xiaojun had seemed too imposing for his age, trying to stare Yuta down with his portfolio in hand, only to curl in on himself minutes later. “He’s kind of your opposite, actually. He came to me and asked for a job, no references, no discussion of his past. Just his work and talent on-hand.”

“He must have been very impressive, for you to take him on just from that.”

Yuta waved. “You’ve seen his work. It’s incredible, and it was already good then. I couldn’t turn him down.”

Ten nodded slowly. “One of my friends is like that. With the names. I wonder if it’s for the same reason?”

“Oh?”

Ten nodded. “You might know him. Hendery?”

“Yes, his name is odd.” Yuta fiddled with his utensils. “We know each other pretty well, but I can’t say I’ve ever found out why he goes by that name.”

Ten shrugged. “It’s not something he talks about much. But he has reasons for it.” He bit his lip. “I imagine it’s probably similar.”

“Maybe. How did the two of you meet?”

“Me and Hen?” Ten laughed. “Through Sicheng, actually.”

“Really?”

Ten nodded. Yuta was glad whatever Ten was thinking about seemed to be a happy memory. “Sicheng and I met at school, actually. Just before he started modeling. He started meeting people in the industry, and he happened to introduce the two of us, and we took it from there.”

Yuta hummed. “That’s actually kind of surprising.”

“That I didn’t meet them through work?” Ten’s gaze turned faraway.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

Ten shook his head. “No, it’s fine, it’s a fair question. I have met people working at my mother’s company, but it would be more accurate to say that Sicheng and Hendery met my mother through me because they were starting in the industry and happened into something at her company in the course of us knowing each other.”

“Did you end up setting them up?”

“Not intentionally.” Ten paused. “Actually, yes, in Sicheng’s case. I wanted him away from—” he cut himself off and took a drink of water. The waiter returned to take their orders. Ten ordered the _cotoletta_ course, and Yuta asked for the _risotto_ course. Ten picked at his napkin once the waiter was gone. “You and Sicheng are friendly, right?”

Yuta snorted. “He’s called me in the middle of the night to complain about shoots, so yeah, I’d say we’re pretty good friends.”

Ten nodded. “So you would know about his first couple of years in the industry.”

Yuta grimaced. “Yes, I do.” He remembered the rumors, before he’d ever met Sicheng, when he was known by WinWin. He remembered the look on Sicheng’s face as he recounted the stories. “It wasn’t pretty.”

“No, it wasn’t.” Ten played with the stem of his glass. “He was already starting to get out of there by the time he met my mother. So it’s not like I did anything major. But I knew it would be good for him, would keep him a little further from that place. So I might have invited him to sneak by when my mother would be around. It only ever takes a look to want him, you know?”

“Yes, he’s very popular.”

Ten shrugged. “So there was that. And he had Jaehyun to lean on, too. And now he’s the ever-elusive Artemis to Jaehyun’s Apollo. Isn’t it great?” Ten waved before Yuta could respond. “What about the others?”

“Hmm?”

“You told me how Xiaojun came to the company. What about the others? Kun, Taeyong. The Moirai. Were they always a set?”

Yuta laughed. “Yes, Renjun, Jaemin, and Donghyuck came as a set. That was a much more normal application. They applied for one job as a team of three, and proved they were well worth it. That first piece they put out? That’s what they applied with.” Gorgeous, layered, smoky veils of a dress

Ten laughed. “They’re remarkable.” He bit the end of his tongue gently. “There is something I’m curious about, though.”

“Ask, if I get a question after.”

Ten nodded his agreement. “What’s with the hair colors?”

“Oh.” Yuta cracked up. “Are you talking about Donghyuck, Kun, and Taeyong?”

Ten nodded. “Jaemin, too, at first, but I figured out that he likes pink pretty quickly.”

“Yes, Jaemin’s had his hair like that a long time. He says it makes him feel like springtime.”

“Cute.”

“Right? Donghyuck’s the same, he’s kept his hair silver for ages, something about it representing the true color of his soul?” Yuta shrugged. “I don’t pretend to understand where he comes up with this stuff.”

“Okay. What about the couple?”

“Oh, they’re the fun story. There was a bet only a couple of weeks before we met, actually. I think it was over a museum exhibit? All I know is, Renjun’s the devil and you should never bet against him. Taeyong lost, so he had to dye his hair. He just puppy-eyed Kun until Kun agreed to do it with him, but Kun told me he only got semi-permanent dye so he’ll be back to black in a few more washes. Taeyong dyes his hair practically by the day sometimes, so who knows what he’ll do.”

“Huh.” Ten sat back. “Maybe I should finally let Hen dye my hair.”

“Have you not before?”

Ten shook his head. “My mother wouldn’t allow it. She barely agreed to the piercings,” he waved at his ears. “And some of those I had to just sneak and wait for her to notice. Or not.”

“That was going to be my question.” Yuta leaned in. “I’ve been so curious. Are all those just for fun, or do they have specific meanings?”

Ten shook his head, playing with one of the upper hoops in his ear. “I just like the way they look. And once I got the first one,” he tapped his right lobe, where most people kept their one venture, “I realized it didn’t hurt that badly so I just kept going back for more.”

“That’s fair.” Yuta tugged on his own. “I’ve never felt like getting more than this, but yours look really good.”

Ten flushed. “Thank you.”

Their food came. It made a welcome distraction from how pretty the blush over Ten’s cheeks was. Yuta dug in.

“So you never told me about Kun and Taeyong,” Ten said after a while. “How did they come around? Were they already together?”

“Oh, no.” Yuta laughed. “Gods, no. No, they met here, while working with me. That was a trip.”

Ten cocked his head. “How so?”

Would it be rude to tell all? Yuta raised one shoulder. “Their story is between them, so I’d prefer to let them tell it, but it wasn’t the easiest time. That’s why we all put up with them being annoyingly cute and attached at the hip now. To answer your first question, though, I knew Taeyong before I started the company, but not by much.”

“You mean, you met while trying to set it up, or he was your first applicant or something?”

Yuta shook his head. “Well, kind of. I set about starting Hades with myself as the only designer. But while I was looking into getting everything set up, I ran into Taeyong at an art store. A complete coincidence, but we ended up talking and realizing that we wanted the same things. So when I actually started the company, he was the first one I hired.”

“So you’ve been together a really long time, then.”

Yuta nodded. “Kun came later, after some people you unfortunately haven’t met yet. He and Taeyong … I’d say they hit it off immediately, but like I said, you should ask them for their stories.”

Ten nodded slowly. He left it alone as they went back to their food and other topics. Yuta almost choked on his _risotto_ when Ten recounted some of the things he and his friends had gotten up to in school, but it was nice, just to chat.

Yuta only remembered the other thing he had meant to ask as they left to go find the store. “So, since you know Hendery better than I do, could you maybe decipher his references to his love life? I’m very confused.”

Ten cackled, holding onto Yuta’s arm for balance. Yuta never wanted to stop hearing that sound. “Oh, he’s in love two walking disasters. This will take a while.”

It at least made for interesting conversation as Yuta introduced Ten to the retail side of their business.

***

Ten almost rolled out of bed when he woke. It had to be the middle of the night; even with the curtains drawn, he would be able to see light peeking in. He sat up, rubbing his face. He wouldn’t even call his dreams nightmares, from what he could remember. They just left him unsettled for reasons he couldn’t name. Going back to sleep—if he even could—would only cause more of the same. He dragged himself out of bed. The path to the kitchen had become a familiar trek. Ten poked around until he could remember where Yuta kept the glasses and got some water. He curled up on the couch.

“What are you doing up?” He almost dropped his cup when Yuta’s voice floated in from the doorway. Yuta stood frowning at him and rubbing his eyes.

“I could ask you the same thing.” Ten sipped from his glass. The cool water helped to settle him away from the awareness that barely-awake was a very good look on Yuta. That way lay dragons. “I woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep.”

Yuta nodded. He wandered toward the couch. “Is that typical for you?”

“Not really.” He shrugged. “I think I’m just getting used to the new environment. Why are you up?”

Yuta sat at the other end of the couch and pulled his knees in toward his chest. “I’ve always had more than a little trouble sleeping. Something I can’t fall asleep for a long time, sometimes I wake up too early for whatever reason. Don’t worry, you didn’t wake me up.”

“That’s good to know.” Ten set aside the glass; the water was gone, anyway. He curled into the couch, facing Yuta. “What do you usually do?”

Yuta shrugged. “Wander around this place until I get tired enough to sleep again?”

Ten frowned. That sounded very lonely.

“What woke you up?” Yuta turned so he was leaning against the couch, mirroring Ten. “You said it was the new environment, but even then something usually wakes you up.”

He played with the edge of his pajama sleeve “I don’t know, I’ve just been having weird dreams recently? I don’t even remember them when I wake up. I just don’t want to go right back to sleep because they’ll probably pick up again.”

Yuta frowned. “It’s not your mom, is it? Because we shouldn’t have any trouble from her for a while.”

Ten shook his head. “I don’t think so, at least not directly. It might just be a combination of things?”

Yuta hummed. “Can I ask you something personal?”

Ten waved around. “We’re talking on your couch in our pajamas in the middle of the night. I think this is pretty personal already.”

Yuta chuckled. “Okay.” A slight crease formed between his eyebrows as he thought. “Do you know why your mom doesn’t want you working in fashion?”

Gentle as the question was, it still felt like a knife between the ribs. Ten sighed. He couldn’t avoid the elephant in the room forever. Ten shifted to look out the windows. The moon was bright. “I don’t know for sure. But I think it’s because of my father.”

Yuta seemed to be holding very still at the other end of the couch. Ten stretched out his legs. “I don’t remember my father very much. He left when I was young. What I do remember is that my mother was different before he left.” How to describe her? “She was warmer, I think. She didn’t need things to be a certain way or try to reach for something that obviously wasn’t working.” 

He cracked his knuckles. “I don’t know why he left, either, but one day it was like everything changed. That’s when she stopped calling herself by her real name and started calling everyone else by their work names, or giving them names.” He hadn’t heard his legal name in a very long time. “I think she thinks that by making everything the way she wants it, she can make sure nothing changes.” There was something about the dark that made it easier to admit hard truths. “I think she refused to let me into her world because if I’m just a receptionist, that’s a little like me still being a child. Still someone she can control and keep in that happy place where everything is the same. I don’t think she even realizes how much damage it does.”

“That doesn’t make it okay.” Ten turned. Yuta gazed back at him steadily. “Her not realizing the harm she causes doesn’t excuse it.”

Ten shuddered. “I know that.” He didn’t deserve her rage. 

Yuta reached out gently. Ten found himself scooting over until they sat in a kind of half hug. He let himself lean against Yuta and breathe in the truths they had acknowledged.

“When I started Hades,” Yuta said after a while, “I had nothing except a dream and sketchbook. I never could have done it on my own.”

“How did you do it, then?”

Yuta stroked Ten’s shoulder with his thumb. “Have you ever heard of Hestia, the communications agency?”

“I think so. Isn’t their motto something like “home and hearth”?”

Yuta nodded. “Moon Taeil, the head of that company, is an old friend of mine. He put himself on the line to help me start Hades.”

Ten snorted. “What, so taking me in is paying it forward?”

Yuta laughed. “Maybe a little? Taeil’s a major shareholder now, it’s not like he didn’t gain anything from it. But he took a big risk, helping me when he didn’t have to. I wasn’t thinking “oh, let’s pay that forward” when I found you, but he did teach me that sometimes you can’t do things alone.” 

The moon shone on them, a gentle witness to the truths they bared. Ten rested his head against Yuta’s shoulder. It wasn’t as strange as he would have expected.

***

After getting feedback from Donghyuck, Ten set to redoing his sketches with a vengeance. There was plenty of work left to do. He couldn’t fall behind at this first stage. He got so invested that he stopped caring where he worked or who was near him. The Moirai had decided they could range near him as they did the others, and it was nice, even if they never shut up. 

Ten settled on the floor in the open work area again for better reach and control as he started the process of transferring his draft sketches to heavier design paper for final adjustments and measurement. Yuta had offered to get him a tablet for designing, and he might use one eventually, but there was something about drawing with pencil and paper that stimulated his creativity.

Xiaojun made a disgusted noise. When Ten looked up, he was pacing in front of the mannequin he’d been working with all morning. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” He kept pacing. “But this isn’t sitting the way I wanted it to. It’s supposed to flow nicely, not just drop.” He waved at the dress on the mannequin.

Ten got up to look at it more closely. The dress had a sheer shroud that dropped straight after the waistline. It reminded him of a dress his mother had worn about a year ago. “You could try pinning it above the waist instead of in the waistline? It would keep the cloth from dropping so drastically, at least.”

“Let’s do it,” Xiaojun said. “Whatever gets this fixed.”

They adjusted the drape a couple of inches up and re-pinned it. It flowed down with the curve of the mannequin. Xiaojun smiled. “That’s much better. How did you know to do that?”

He shrugged. “My mother wears a lot of dresses that flow the way you were talking about, and she used to make some of them herself. So I’ve seen what she does to adjust them.”

“That’s great.” He peeked at Ten’s sketches. “Is this the collection you’re working on?”

“Yeah.” Ten picked up the heavier paper to hand over. “I wanted to get all of the designs set out well before I start picking cloth and everything.”

“That’s a good idea.” Xiaojun dropped to the floor and flipped through the drawings. “Though I’m kind of surprised you’re going at it wholesale like this.”

“What do you mean?” Ten sat across from him.

“It’s a lot of work, is all. I usually get an idea for a collection and work up a few central sketches that I work out about this far,” he waved at the mannequin, “or at least to materials and measurements before I go for another set. There’s nothing wrong with this,” he added, apparently spotting something in Ten’s face, “it just surprised me.”

“Huh.” Ten accepted the sketchbook back. “I just wanted to get the whole idea out before I try moving on to another stage. Plus I already had a bunch of these to work with.”

“That’s fair.” He handed them back. “Whatever works for you best.”

Ten bit his lip. Xiaojun had a stack of books next to his mannequin. “What are you reading?”

“Hmm?”

He pointed. “I always see you with at least one book. I’m very curious.”

“Oh.” Xiaojun turned to pull the stack over to them. “I do read a lot for work, but I’ve also been working my way through Dante’s _Divine Comedy_.” He held up the book in question.

“For fun?”

“Yeah.”

Ten blinked at him. “I might be remembering wrong, but isn’t the _Divine Comedy_ a bit grim for pleasure reading?”

“Oh, you’ve read it?” Xiaojun perked up. “It’s kind of dark, yeah, but it’s not like we’re swimming in roses here, either? So it’s interesting to me to look back at other viewpoints.”

“Fair enough.”

“Why did you read it?” Xiaojun set down the book.

“I did art history in school.” Ten fussed with his papers until they lay in a semblance of order. “With a particular focus on the art of this period,” he tapped the book’s cover. “So I took my literature elective in the same period. It was really interesting … if a bit bloody.”

Xiaojun laughed. “Well, I hear history is like that.”

They chatted until Yuta almost tripped over both Ten and Xiaojun’s book. Xiaojun steadied him with a hand on Yuta’s leg. Ten tucked his hands under his legs. 

“What are you doing?” Yuta demanded. “I almost fell over you.”

“Like you don’t work on the floor?” Xiaojun retorted. He twisted to stand. “I do have to go, though.” He smiled at Ten. “If that’s what you’re interested in, I have a few books I think you would like.”

“Really?”

He nodded. “I’ll bring them tomorrow.” Xiaojun wandered off before Ten could thank him.

Yuta offered him a hand up. “So, that didn’t tell me why you’re on the floor.”

Ten grabbed his papers and took the hand. Yuta’s touch flared through him. Ten brought his hand back under the stack of papers once he was upright. “I don’t actually know. Xiaojun asked to see my drafts and sat on the floor with them. Does it matter?”

“Not really.” Yuta tried to peer at his stack of papers. Ten backed up. “Do I not get to see them?”

“Not until I’m done.” They had to be good enough first. Ten leaned on the arm of the couch. “Soon.”

Yuta eyed him. “Okay, then. Will you bring them by when you finish?”

Ten nodded, then pushed Yuta out of the room so he could finish sketching in peace. 

***

Ten knocked on Yuta’s open door. Cerberus had told him to feel free just to come in as long as a meeting wasn’t in progress, especially since Yuta had this habit of wandering out of his own office and into other people’s offices. It still felt a little weird. Yuta was reading something, but he looked up at Ten’s knock. “Hey. What’s up?”

Ten hefted the stack of papers. “I have something to show you, if you’re not busy.”

“I’m not.” Yuta set aside his report. “I’ve gotten bored enough to read financial reports, and that’s never a good sign. Please save me.”

Ten laughed as he entered. He sat in front of the main desk with his bundle. “I finished drafting. The others thought it looked pretty good, but I wanted to see what you thought.” Why did Yuta’s opinion feel the most significant? He fiddled with the edge of one of the pages.

Yuta brightened. “Oh, let me see.” He flipped through the stack carefully, poring over each drawing in detail. Ten clasped his hands together. “This is great.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.” Yuta smiled at him gently. “I wouldn’t joke about something like this. Your first collection is important. I think it’s important that you feel good about it, especially since you will hopefully be doing more of these for us.”

His neck felt uncomfortably warm. Ten stole one of Yuta’s pens. “Thank you. So you like it?”

He nodded, tracing one of the drawings gently with a finger. “I really do. I think this is a very good choice for a debut line. If you don’t mind, I do have a couple of suggestions for some of the pieces.”

“Of course, you would know more than I do about all this.”

“Would you rather I just go ahead and do them now, or would you rather wait and do this later?”

“No, do it now.” Ten stuck his hands together between his knees. “I would much rather know now so I can fix things.”

“It’s not so much a matter of fixing anything,” Yuta corrected him. “It’s just that there are some things you just don’t know yet that would make these easier, like cloth and some stitching tricks.”

Ten nodded, despite the way his skin felt stretched too tight. Yuta took a blue pen and went to work over Ten’s black-ink drawings. As he’d said, he didn’t leave many marks on any one drawing. It still felt like a dream, sometimes, to think that Hades himself was correcting Ten’s designs.

When he was done, Yuta came around his desk with Ten’s papers. Ten stood to meet him. “This is really good, Ten. I know I’ve said it before, but I want to make sure you believe me.”

“Thank you.” Yuta’s gaze held weight, but unlike every other time he’d been the focus of such a gaze, Ten never wanted to look away. He took the papers back; their hands brushed underneath the stack. He controlled the urge to snatch himself away. That would only make things awkward.

“If you don’t think it will take long to implement those changes, we can meet again officially in a couple of days to start moving your work into the next stages.” Yuta shifted his weight. “You’ve moved very fast, I think, in the weeks you’ve been here.”

“Thanks. That should be fine.” Ten brought the papers close to himself. “I trust you.”

Yuta smiled to himself. “I’m glad. I’ll see you later, then?”

Ten nodded and got out of there. He could not afford to think about anything but these designs.

***

Ten stretched over the back of the couch until his back popped.

“Doesn’t that hurt?” Yuta asked, watching him from the opposite couch.. He did that a lot. Ten wasn’t sure what to make of it, but then Yuta also asked how he felt a lot, too. Maybe he was just concerned. Ten shrugged.

“Not really.”

“Was that a victory stretch or did you just need a break?” Yuta worked with a sketchbook today. He seemed to move between technologies without care. Ten preferred the days he used paper and pencil. Yuta was much more mobile then.

He was still watching. Ten tugged his shirt down over the warmth on his skin. “A victory stretch.” He brandished his his drafting paper. “I’m done with another draft.”

Yuta applauded. “Look at you go. You’re adjusting so quickly.”

His ears warmed. And maybe the rest of his face, too. “Thanks.” He set the paper aside. “So. Are you at a stopping point?”

“Huh?” Yuta glanced at his own work. “I suppose so. Why?”

He fidgeted. “There’s this place I want to go near here, but I don’t know the directions from this building.”

Yuta set down his tablet. “Where do you want to go?”

“The _Bosco Verticale_.” Ten pulled a loose thread from his pants. “I used to come by it sometimes on my own, so I know it’s still in _Porta Nuova_, but I don’t know where to go from this building specifically.”

“Oh, that’s easy.” Yuta pointed away from the windows. “It’s almost a straight shot that way. You’d be able to see it over the other roofs from up here if we had windows facing it.”

Ten crossed to Yuta’s couch. Like Yuta had to him, he offered a hand. “Show me, then?”

“What?” Yuta blinked at him.

“You made me get lunch,” Ten wiggled his fingers like Yuta had. “Now I’m making you take a break. Come see the forest with me.”

Yuta smiled. The room grew a degree brighter. He took Ten’s hand. Ten worried at his lip as he pulled Yuta from the room. Was this the best idea? Too late to worry.

When they got out to the street, Yuta pointed. “It’s just down this way and left a little, only a couple of blocks.”

“Let’s walk, then?”

Ten almost forgot they were still holding hands as they walked until Yuta started swinging them. He shivered. Yuta glanced over. “Are you okay? It shouldn’t be that cold out.”

Ten shook his head. “No, I’m fine.” What a lie. Once he noticed it, it was impossible not to be hyper-aware of every place their skin touched.

Yuta had to let go of him eventually, to let by a group of pedestrians barreling down the middle of the street. They split to opposite sides for safety. When they came back together, Ten had his hands in his pockets. Yuta just smiled at him and stuck close. It was safer this way.

Yuta hadn’t lied. The _Bosco Verticale_ stood tall only a few blocks from their office, ensconced between several typical office buildings. The living forest climbed toward the sky, shrubs and flowers and small trees contained in the niches of apartment balconies created Ten’s favorite illusion of an ever-growing organism. He took Yuta to the small bench shaded under another office building across the street from the residences. They sat together, barely touching on the wide bench.

“I’ve always thought this building was cool.” Yuta leaned back into the bench. “I wish we could make more of them.”

“I know.” Ten ignored the way Yuta’s leg brushed past his as he shifted around. He stuck his hands back in his pockets. “It’s too bad we can’t just put trees on every building in the city.”

“Oh, please don’t get me started on that,” Yuta whined. “I wish I could just buy out all the roofs and plant the trees we need.”

“Okay, I don’t know how sustainable that would be.” Ten laughed. Yuta shrugged. Ten relaxed back into the bench as their conversation lapsed.

“Did you know this was the inspiration for my mother’s building?” Ten pointed to the flowers a few floors above them. “She liked the idea of plants on buildings, but when she bought the office they’re in now, putting plants outside didn’t seem like a good option to her so she just put them all inside.”

“Huh.” Yuta crossed his arms behind his head. The muscles in his arm flexed. “I suppose she gets credit for at least trying to have an environmentally friendly idea there. She likes plants a lot, doesn’t she?”

“Yeah, she does.” Ten found that he didn’t mind talking about her like this. It hadn’t all been bad.

“Hmm.” Yuta glanced at him. “That doesn’t make me like her any better.”

Ten turned. “Me neither, frankly.” Yuta pursed his lips, looking thoughtful.

Ten wanted to kiss him. Yuta sat there, lost in his own thoughts, and all Ten wanted was to kiss him. Maybe he wanted more than that. A gentle breeze cooled them. Ten sat back. There were lines, and he was not going to cross them. Yuta didn’t seem to notice, and Ten played like he had relaxed fully during their little outing as they headed back to the office.

***

Ten tore himself away from staring at Yuta for the third time in ten minutes. He’d barely started setting colors. This was getting ridiculous. Just because Yuta hadn’t been in the open workspace often recently did not mean he was allowed to let it distract him.

“You don’t mind if I go out with my friends, right?” 

“What?” Yuta looked up. “Of course not, why would I mind?”

Ten shrugged. “It’s your house, I thought you might want to keep some kind of curfew.” And old habits died hard.

Yuta shook his head. “You’ve got a key, come back whenever you want. Just, like, if you’re going to be out all night I’d like a warning just so I won’t stay up waiting for you?”

Ten nodded. Of course he hadn’t minded. “That makes sense. Thanks.”

Yuta nodded and went back to his own work. Ten made it through maybe another sheet before he needed a break. He pulled out his phone on his way to the bathroom. He texted his friends.

Sicheng: _Fine, come to my place_

Hendery: _Sure, but you’d better have good news for me~_

Jeno: _:c I’m working late, I’m sorry_

Yangyang: _I’ll bring the wine!_

Those plans got him through the rest of the day. He’d already looked up the way to Sicheng’s house from the office, so he managed not to get lost on the subway. Sicheng’s building was just as impressive as Yuta’s, in its own way. Sicheng lived near the top as well.

His apartment almost didn’t feel like a real building. It was more like a furnished plain with walls. Most of the apartment was an open floor plan, with the kitchen only offset by counters and Sicheng’s bedroom and bathroom in separate rooms. Minimal furniture and light ambient music kept the place free and open. Unlike Ten’s mother, Sicheng kept only a few potted plants away from his furniture, near the wide windows. It kept the room light and free without suffocating the inhabitants. Sicheng deserved that. His furniture was light, as well. Hendery lounged on the couch, playing with his phone.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m giving Chenle some instructions for next week.” He set down his phone. “If he wants the Eros name, he’s going to have to earn it. Do you want to tell me about Yuta now?”

“No.” Ten dropped onto the other end of the couch. “Not yet. Where is everyone?”

Hendery pointed. “Winnie’s still in there.”

“Don’t call me that.” Sicheng breezed in from the kitchen with a tray of snacks. “You know I hate it.”

“That’s why I do it.” Hendery clung to Sicheng, whiny, as soon as Sicheng put down the tray. Ten giggled. “Sichengie, help me interrogate Ten about his boy.”

“What about you, then?” Ten shot back. “Are you ever going to offer up what you demand from others?”

Hendery grinned crookedly. “I might have made progress with a boy or two. But you called us here to talk about you, not my flourishing love life.”

“You can call it flourishing when you get those two in the same room with each other without something breaking.” Sicheng finally wriggled away from Hendery. He sat on the couch between the two. Ten crossed his legs under himself.

Yangyang barreled in. “I come bearing gifts.” He brandished a tall, narrow bag. “Dionysus’ newest line of red wine. And cheese.” In another bag. He set the wine and cheese out on the table. Sicheng excused himself to get glasses as Yangyang settled into the armchair across from Ten. He reached for a glass once Sicheng offered it “It’s too bad Jeno couldn’t come, I brought his favorite.”

“So.” Hendery nudged Ten with his foot. “Spill. Why did you call us? And don’t say just to see us; you could have done that weeks ago.”

“I should have done that weeks ago.” Ten fiddled with his glass.

Sicheng rolled his eyes. “You just started a new job. You haven’t been ghosting us. Calm down and spill.”

He recapped everything that had happened between meeting Yuta and that morning. They waited him out, though Hendery just got more antsy the more Ten talked.

“Tell him.” Hendery reached across to poke Ten as soon as he stopped talking. “You like him. That’s a good thing.”

“He’s my boss.” Ten poked him back. “My boss, for the dream job I just started, which he and I put ourselves on the line for. Not to mention I’m living in his house.”

“I thought you joined the Underworld?” Yangyang dove for more snacks. “Isn’t your contract different to a regular employee?”

Ten rolled his eyes. “Yes, we’re contracted independently, but he still owns the company, he’s still approving all the work, no matter what he says about us being equal designers. And I’m the newest.”

“Do you really think he’s the kind of person who would take things out on you at work, even assuming something went badly?”

“Of course not.” Ten sipped his wine. “But it could still get awkward. Is that really a risk I would want to take?”

“I don’t know, is it?” Sicheng shrugged. “Is that really all you’re worried about?”

He leaned away. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Sicheng set down his glass. “If you were only worried about the work balance—which is a valid concern—I’d tell you to go for it, because it’s Yuta. But if there’s more to it then you should tell us.”

Ten squirmed. “I don’t know what I’m doing here. It’s not like I’ve ever been able to get much experience. What if I’m the only one interested? What if I screw it up and make everything awkward? I’m not just talking about the job, I don’t want to mess up good relationships I’ve just started forming.” What if he screwed it up like his mother had?

Yangyang leaned in. “Look, this can’t go on forever. Something’s going to happen whether you take that step or not. The only choice you really have is if you want to be the one to do it, or if you want to let something else do it for you.”

Sicheng hummed. “You could maybe keep it in,” he disagreed. “Your self-control is good enough. But you would regret it, I think.”

Ten sighed. “That’s true.” He’d left Demeter so he could be free; what use was that freedom if he didn’t actually speak his mind? He leaned on Sicheng. “Okay. I might wait until the collection’s over, but I’ll do it.”

“That’s good enough.” Sicheng patted his head and pointed at the other two. “More wine?”

Ten barely remembered to text Yuta the warning he had asked for before passing out on Sicheng’s couch. The hangover that greeted him in the next morning almost made him turn over and go back to sleep. But that would be unprofessional. Ten dragged himself off to face the music.

***

Yuta stared when Ten dragged himself into the office looking haggard. Between the frown on his face and the bags under his eyes, it looked like he hadn’t slept. What had happened? Had he been working Ten too hard?

Yuta pulled Ten aside as the others trailed in. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

“Sure. What’s up?” Ten crossed his arms like he was bracing himself.

“Are you okay?”

Ten leaned into the wall. “What do you mean?”

Yuta waved vaguely. “You look worn out, and not just because you were out last night. Are you okay? You’ve been working a lot, which is great, but I don’t want you to over work and burn yourself out.”

Ten’s face blanked out. “Oh. No, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?”

Ten smiled; even this tired, it was a thing of beauty. “I promise. There’s been an adjustment, and I might need a little more sleep this weekend, but I’m okay. Really.” He pushed himself off the wall.

“Okay.” Yuta patted Ten’s shoulder. “But let me know if you do need a break.”

“I will.”

Yuta let Ten slip away. He’d have to keep an eye on things; even if Ten said he was fine, Yuta had a bad feeling.

***

Ten put down the book Xiaojun had recommended when he started yawning. It was later than he had thought. Yuta usually made a show of going to bed earlier than this and pulled Ten out of his own head. Where was he? Ten got up to poke around. He could have guessed that Yuta wasn’t in the kitchen from the lack of noise, but he wasn’t in his office either.

The bathroom door opened as Ten passed it. Yuta stepped out, accompanied by billows of steam. Ten froze. Yuta had his clothes in one hand, but he only wore a towel wrapped around his hips. Water dripped from his hair to his skin. Ten wanted to follow the path the water made with his tongue.

“Oh, sorry.” Yuta shifted. Ten snapped back to Yuta’s face. “I didn’t mean to—”

“No, I’m sorry.” Ten stepped back, though all he wanted to do was move forward. “I was going this way,” he pointed toward his room. “I didn’t mean to get in your way.”

Yuta shook his head. “It’s fine.” He seemed to be looking everywhere at once.

Did he know? Ten shuffled toward his room. “I’ll get out of your way.”

He fled to his bedroom before he could embarrass himself. Ten flopped onto his bed as his heart rate climbed. Well, shit.

***

Yuta woke to coffee brewing. There were many good things about Ten as a roommate—good coffee when he woke up was a high point. He dragged himself up to get dressed. Ten was already almost done eating when Yuta made it into the kitchen. He had his glasses on, was wrapped in an oversized cream sweater, and seemed completely preoccupied with his bagel. No one should look that cute so early in the morning. Yuta went to the coffeemaker to give himself something to do. 

Ten had already set out what Yuta needed to make his coffee. He took left it on the table as he heated up a light breakfast for himself. Ten said good morning softly when he sat down. He wouldn’t quite look at Yuta. Was that about last night? Yuta dug into his own meal to cover his flush. It was a good thing Ten had left as quickly as he had, even if he was a little awkward about it now.

Their legs brushed under the table. Ten jumped back. Yuta held himself very still. The touch sent him right back to the night before as they stared at each other. They hadn’t touched then, but oh, how Yuta had wanted to. He still wanted to. Maybe Ten saw that in him. Maybe he was just embarrassed, but he stood and dropped his plate in the sink before slipping out of the kitchen. Yuta needed several breaths to remember why going after Ten would be a dangerous conflict of interest, not simple flirtation. He went back to his coffee. By the time they left, he could pretend things were normal.

***

When they confirmed that Ten’s pieces would run in their Ready-to-Wear show for Milan Fashion Week, the Underworld cheered. Ten couldn’t keep himself from smiling all day. Taeyong suggested a party. Ten almost couldn’t believe how quickly they put such a thing together, but not even a week later he sat with a bottle of beer in a private club room as music pulsed. His coworkers seemed to be enjoying themselves. The alcohol loosened Ten up enough not to worry about watching Yuta. Who was approaching his spot by the wall. Yuta sat next to Ten. Their sides pressed together, a line of heat spreading through him.

“Congratulations. You’ve done amazingly well in a short period of time.”

Ten wasn’t sure if it was the compliment or the alcohol making his head spin, but he giggled anyway. “Thank you. People have been saying nice things to me all day, but that one at least feels realistic.”

Yuta shook his head. “I’m sure everything you’ve heard is realistic.” Yuta’s slightly drunken gaze was just as intense as his sober gaze, maybe more so. The heat from their sides seemed to spread through his whole body.

Ten took another drink. “Maybe. I’m just not used to taking compliments.”

“You should be.” Drunk Yuta also seemed not to blink very much. He leaned a little closer. “You should be used to everyone complimenting you, all the time.”

“Yeah?” Maybe he was feeling brave. Ten put his chin up. “Like what?”

“Like how pretty you are.” Yuta brushed a finger over Ten’s cheek. He shivered. Yuta frowned. “No, they should start with how smart you are, and how you’re an amazing artist, and the best person, because those are more important than being pretty.”

Ten hid his grin behind the bottle as Yuta’s words warmed him. “That’s sweet, but go ahead. Tell me more about how pretty I am.”

“I think you might be the prettiest person I’ve ever seen,” Yuta told him seriously. “You have to be.”

He wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol or that intoxicating gaze that made him do it. Ten leaned in to brush his lips over Yuta’s. Yuta blinked when Ten pulled back before pulling him right back in. Ten grabbed onto his shirt. Yuta tasted sweet, when Ten opened his mouth to let him in. No one seemed to be watching when they came up for air. Ten tugged on Yuta’s shirt. “Not here.” He set down the bottle. “Take me home?”

Yuta led him outside by the hand to call a cab. They behaved themselves on the ride over mostly because the driver recognized Yuta, but by the time Yuta was letting them into the apartment, Ten couldn’t take it anymore. He dropped kisses over Yuta’s neck, over the side of his face, until Yuta gave in and kissed him on the mouth. Ten wrapped his arms around Yuta’s neck as Yuta tried to walk them back toward his room, still trading kisses. Yuta’s hand stroking his spine sent shivers all through him.

When they reached his room, Yuta didn’t bother with the light. Ten couldn’t see much, but what he could see was everything he had expected and more. A king-sized bed with black sheets dominated. He could make out a night stand next to it, and other furniture concealed by shadows. Ten let himself be laid across the bed as Yuta set to work undressing them both.

***

Ten stretched before relaxing into the warmth surrounding him. He nestled closer to the body radiating heat next to him. Wait a minute. Ten opened his eyes. Yuta lay sleeping on the pillow next to him.

They were in Yuta’s room. The furniture he hadn’t been able to make out before turned out to be a dresser and desk like the ones in his room, but black and gold to match the bed and a bit messier. Ten sat up slowly, taking stock. What had he been thinking? He could try to blame it on the alcohol, but he hadn’t been drunk, really, just tipsy. His head throbbed anyway. Ten slid out of bed carefully. Yuta didn’t even move. Clearly, he was a deep sleeper. Ten grabbed his clothes and crept from the room. He checked the clock in his room as he pulled the clothes back on; it was much earlier than Yuta would ever be awake on a weekend.

He paced to the kitchen to gather what he needed for breakfast—eggs and toast should be gentle enough on his stomach. He paused, tapping the can of coffee beans, then put it away. Nothing woke Yuta up as fast as fresh coffee. Ten paced the kitchen on quiet feet as the food cooked. As much as he might wish he didn’t, he could remember everything he’d said and done the night before. Why had he done that? Ten picked at one of his nails. The plan had been to confess, not jump his boss.

The toast popped out. Ten hurried to retrieve it and turn off the stove for his eggs. He ate quickly and left the dishes in the sink as he slipped back to his room. The blue felt too bright for him anymore. Ten dressed in dark colors. His first collection was finished, technically, but that didn’t mean there would be others so quickly. Yuta could change his mind just as easily. Ten paused in front of the bathroom mirror on his way out. He hadn’t bothered with make-up, only washed his face, and he looked as cold as his insides felt.

No, Yuta wouldn’t do that. Ten crept back to the kitchen. He packed himself a sandwich for lunch and stored it in his bag. But one night didn’t mean that Yuta liked him, didn’t mean that Ten hadn’t just ruined a careful balance with drunken stupidity. He locked the door on his way out. He had designs itching to bleed from his fingers and hours before anyone would even think to check the office for him.

***

Yuta rolled, groaning, and frowned when he reached a cold stretch of bed. Where was Ten? He sat up to find half of his bed empty, with cold, folded back sheets. Ten’s clothes were gone, too. The cold seeped through him despite how warm he kept the apartment. Yuta peeled himself out of bed.

He pulled on a nightshirt and went through the apartment. Ten’s door was closed, the light was off, the bathroom door was open. There were dishes in the sink. His bag and shoes were gone. Where would he go? The mountain of sketchbooks on his office desk was a clue. Hades. Of course he would. It was a pretty clear sign. Yuta sighed and went to get dressed.

Hades was deserted this early on a weekend. Yuta stepped back from the doorway when he spotted Ten. He sat cross-legged on the couch, bent over a sketchbook. He drew and drew and drew, strokes put down without hesitation. Each stroke was careful, intentional, leaving no room for error.

Of course he would come here. Yuta leaned on the wall. Ten sketched like his life depended on getting his ideas out. Of course he wouldn’t want to risk this—even if he wanted enough to risk. Yuta stepped back. He could keep his mouth shut to protect Ten’s dream. It was the least he could do.

***

Ten played with the pages of his sketchbook. They so rarely used this conference room that sitting in here made him antsy. The others milled around, chatting. They didn’t seem to know what was going on, either, but also didn’t seem to care. He smiled at Xiaojun when the other sat next to him, but didn’t say anything.

Yuta strode in, a sketchbook of his own under his arm. “Alright, let’s go.” He sat at the head of the table. Cerberus followed him and set up a laptop, probably to take notes. Everyone found a seat. Ten watched Yuta.

He’d been so afraid that he had ruined everything, but Yuta never said a word about the party. Xiaojun poked through his own notebook next to Ten. Taeyong sat across from him with a little wave. He would almost have thought Yuta just didn’t remember. When Ten faced front, Yuta was looking right at him, eyes dark. Ten shivered. He looked back to his sketchbook. So Yuta remembered it.

“It’s that time of year again. We’ve put out several collections, thanks to Xiaojun, Taeyong, Ten,” he nodded to each of them. “While those go out on the market, we have a nice window to brainstorm. Unless anyone has something else to bring up. Does anyone want to start?”

Everyone looked at each other. Ten traced the cover of his sketchbook. The drawings he’d been doing—they were pretty good. When no one else spoke up, Ten straightened.

“Actually.” Ten flipped to the start of his recent sketches. “I didn’t know this was coming up, but I’ve been drawing something new.”

He passed it to Xiaojun. Xiaojun flipped through the sketches, nodding slowly. “I like this.” He passed it to Renjun. Renjun seemed to agree, though he seemed surprised at something. He showed them to Donghyuck and Jaemin before the three passed it on to Kun. Taeyong, too, seemed surprised but happy as he passed the sketchbook to Yuta. 

Yuta picked it up. Ten forced himself to breathe normally as Yuta flipped through it. “I like this.” Yuta tapped a page. “Do you have a cohesive idea for the set?”

Ten played with the ends of his sweater’s sleeves. “Kind of?” Everyone looked at him. The first sketch had been done trying to get that image of Yuta sleeping out of his head. But that wouldn’t be appropriate to say. “Beauty in shadow? Something like that.”

He ignored the words around him to watch Yuta. Yuta glanced down at the sketches again, then nodded. “It’s good. Like I said, this is a brainstorming window, so there’s no rush to finish this. But go ahead and see what you can come up with.” He stood and came around the table.

Yuta handed back the sketchbook. Their fingers brushed. Ten fought down a shiver. “Thanks.”

Yuta just nodded to him again before returning to his seat. As he asked for other ideas, Ten got out a pencil.

***

Ten was sketching on the couch a few days later when Yuta paced in. Ten pretended to continue sketching even though all his attention went to the edge of his senses, tracking Yuta’s movements.

“I have something to ask you.” Yuta finally dropped onto the ottoman, across from Ten.

Ten put away his pencil and sat up. “What is it?”

Yuta fidgeted. “How do you feel about your living situation?”

That didn’t sound good. “You mean living here?”

“Yeah.” Yuta stood to pace again. “We had originally said this was temporary. I was wondering if you’d given any thought to moving out.”

It shouldn’t have, but the question cut into him like a knife. Ten pulled his sketchbook closer. They had said this would be temporary from the beginning. That months had passed shouldn’t make a difference. “Honestly, so much has been happening that I hadn’t gotten around to looking or thinking about it.” He bit his lip. “I can start, if you want.”

Yuta frowned. “It’s not that—” he cut himself off. “I’m not trying to kick you out. I just wanted to check in?”

Ten just gave what Yangyang liked to call his “cat stare.” Yuta didn’t seem to enjoy it, but he didn’t budge. “Maybe we should talk about this later?” Ten suggested eventually. “I haven’t thought about it, and if you don’t want me to get out as soon as possible,” because that was such a great feeling, “then some time might be a good idea.”

Yuta nodded. “That sounds good.”

Ten gave a tight smile. “Great.”

He hated it.

***

The conversation followed him for days, seeping into everything he tried to do. Sketches skewed darker and darker, until he threw out a whole day’s work. Ten shoved away his sketchbook. For once, he was glad for the private spaces Yuta insisted on keeping in the office for the designers. Rain battered the building, obscuring the usually enjoyable view out of his window. This couldn’t go on. Ten checked the hall outside; everyone seemed to be ensconced today. He curled up in his office chair and tapped Hendery’s contact on his phone.

The patter of rain complemented “Venus,” which Hendery had set as his ringtone weeks ago. “_What did he do?_”

Ten bit the inside of his lip, watching the patterns the rain drew on his window. “I haven’t even said anything.”

“_Yes, but you only call instead of texting for two reasons, and neither Mark nor Yukhei has been in your vicinity for ages. I would know._” Ten rolled his eyes at the smug tone. “_So what did our dear Hades do?_”

“Don’t call him that.” Ten sighed. “He asked me when I’m moving out a few days ago.”

“_And you told him you never want to leave, right?_”

“No, I told him I hadn’t thought about it yet.”

Hendery sighed. “_That’s not as bad as I thought it would be. But why is this bothering you so much? Didn’t you say it was a temporary stay?_”

“You know why it’s bothering me.” Lightning flashed. Ten counted the seconds until thunder followed up on his fingers. “I just want to know how to make it stop bothering me.”

“_That’s easy._” Hendery laughed. “_Stop being an idiot and tell him how you feel. Just be honest with him. Do you really think Yuta would ever hurt you like that?_”

“No.”

“_At least you know that now._” Something tapped on Hendery’s end of the line. “_You were worried about ruining things, but you slept with him and ran away and has anything been ruined?_”

“Just me.”

“_Stop that. Would telling him your feelings be worse than this?_”

Ten traced the rain’s patterns in the air in front of him.

“_Think about it._”

Ten contemplated Hendery’s words as the rain cleansed his vision.

When he couldn’t stand being alone anymore, he crept out into the hallway. Yuta was nowhere to be seen. He couldn’t say whether he was relieved or disappointed. Xiaojun had disappeared again, but Kun and Taeyong were cuddling on the Underworld couches. Ten spun on his heel.

“Tennie, wait,” Taeyong called. Ten paused. “We wanted to talk to you.”

Ten perched at the other end of the couch. “What’s up?”

“Are you feeling alright?” Kun waved him over. “You’ve been out of it recently.”

Taeyong hooked his chin over Kun’s shoulder. “Yuta’s been a little off, too.” Ten couldn’t meet Taeyong’s knowing gaze. “Did something happen?”

“Can I ask you something?” Ten curled sideways into the couch. “About your relationship?”

They glanced at each other. Kun shrugged. “Sure?”

“How do you make the personal-professional line work? Does it ever get weird or awkward that you work together, like if you have a fight?”

“Hmmm.” Kun played with Taeyong’s fingers where his hand rested against Kun’s knee. “We don’t fight much, so there’s that. But we met through work, so I’d say that’s the side of things we know how to handle easiest.”

“Plus, our situation is a little different than yours.” Taeyong gestured with his other hand. “Since Yuta’s still technically our boss.”

“I never said anything about Yuta.”

“You didn’t have to,” Taeyong snorted. “I have eyes. And even if I didn’t already know something was going on from watching you two, who else would you be having that particular dilemma over? We’re in a committed monogamous relationship,” he waved between himself and Kun, “you’re clearly not interested in any of the Moirai, and Xiaojun has something going on he won’t tell any of us about yet. You don’t interact with anyone else at the company regularly.” Taeyong raised an eyebrow.

Ten threw up his hands. “Okay. Fine. I’m talking about Yuta.”

“Do you want to tell us what happened?” Kun asked gently.

Ten pursed his lips. “Not particularly.”

“… Alright.” Kun pursed his lips. “Without context, what I can tell you is that Yuta is one of the most ethical people I’ve ever met. I think you know that already, and I don’t think him being the CEO is what’s bothering you.”

“No.” Ten sighed. “It’s more the “how do we handle a working relationship and something more without screwing one up” thing.”

Taeyong shrugged. “You screw it up. You fix it. When both involved parties are good people, all you really need to do is talk to each other.” He nuzzled into Kun’s neck. “So maybe you should talk to him instead of us.”

Ten flipped him off, but he was grinning. “Fine. Is he still here?”

They shook their heads. “His last meeting ended about an hour ago and he took off.”

Ten stood. “I guess I’m going home then.” It was past time to settle this. He practically ran out of the office.

***

When Ten made it back, Yuta sat reading on the couch. He stiffened when Ten came close, but didn’t seem inclined to move. Ten took his book.

“Hey, I was reading that.” It seemed like a sign of how awkward things had gotten, despite their best efforts, that Yuta didn’t even fight him.

“Don’t care.” Ten pinned Yuta to the couch. “I need to talk to you.”

Yuta propped himself up on his elbows. “You didn’t want to talk before, why now?”

Ten sat back, perching on Yuta’s knees. “I know what I want to say now.” Swathed in cool darkness with Hades under him, Ten felt more alive than he ever had with Demeter. “I made a mistake.”

Yuta seemed content to lounge underneath Ten on the couch. “You don’t owe me an explanation.”

“I do,” Ten insisted. “Because I made a mistake, by leaving.”

Yuta shut up.

“I know what that must have looked like—like I regretted it. I didn’t. I don’t. I just got scared.”

“I get that. It must have felt like a very vulnerable position to put yourself in. I don’t blame you for not wanting to be there.”

Ten shook his head. “Well, yes, but not for the reason you’re thinking. I wasn’t actually afraid that you would hold it over me, or fire me, or whatever.” Ten steadied himself with hands on Yuta’s stomach. The spark that lit in Yuta’s gaze could wait. “But the last time I was in a vulnerable position in a work setting was when I worked for my mother. You’re not her,” he hurried before Yuta could interrupt with the words waiting on his tongue. “I know that. But it’s not easy to unlearn all the things I learned from her.” 

Yuta’s muscles were tense under his hands, but he never moved. “So you wanted to stay?”

Ten nodded. “I should have. Even if it wasn’t how I intended that night to go, I should have stayed and talked to you.”

Yuta cocked his head. “How did you want the night to go?”

Ten played with Yuta’s shirt. His muscles jumped a little. “I wanted to talk to you that night. But we got tipsy instead—and everything after. And I freaked out a little, too, because that wasn’t in the plan.”

Yuta sat up, bringing his face very close to Ten’s. They hadn’t been this close since that night. “What did you want to tell me?” His gaze burned through Ten.

Ten grinned. “You really want to know?”

Yuta gave a half-smile, but that intense gaze never wavered. “Tell me now.”

It was overwhelming to do so, but Ten pushed through. “I think I’m falling in love with you.”

Yuta’s beautiful, healing smile bloomed. “Do you mean that?” he asked. Ten nodded helplessly. “Good, because I know I’m falling in love with you.”

Ten didn’t notice the tears until Yuta reached up to swipe his thumb under Ten’s eye. Yuta was a little teary, too, so it was okay. It took no more than a breath for Ten to lean in and kiss him. Yuta slid a hand around the back of his neck to pull him closer. Ten lost himself in sensation, still gripping Yuta’s shirt like a lifeline. He yelped when Yuta grabbed him around the waist and stood. He replaced his hold on Yuta’s shirt for a death grip around his neck. He wrapped his legs around Yuta’s waist and held on.

“Where are we going?”

Yuta rolled his eyes. “Where do you think?”

Ten just laughed as Yuta carried him to the bedroom.

***

Yuta drifted awake to his alarm and a sleepy Ten sprawled over him. Warmth surrounded him, more than one tiny human should be capable of producing. Also, he snored. This was a really nice way to wake up. Morning sun peeked through the curtains. Unfortunately, they couldn’t just stay in bed all day. Ten was adorable asleep. He had wedged his head into Yuta’s chest, as close to his heart as possible. He smoothed Ten’s hair down before nudging him gently. “Hey, we gotta get up.”

Ten grumbled.

“We have to go to work, baby. You’ve got meetings about the fit for your collection, remember?”

He grumbled some more before actually opening his eyes. “Do we have to?”

“Yes.”

He rubbed his face against Yuta’s chest. It was almost criminal that he hadn’t gotten to see this before. “Fine.” Ten pulled himself up to Yuta’s eye level. “Don’t think I didn’t hear that, by the way.” He kissed Yuta and was out of bed before Yuta could react.

When he caught up, Ten was already heating up food in the kitchen. He must have stopped in his room to put on pajamas he swam in; the whole thing made him look deceptively innocent. “Do I get some of that?”

“Maybe.” Ten grinned. “If you’re nice to me.”

“When have I ever not been nice to you?” Yuta strode over to grab Ten by the waist. Ten wriggled until he’d found a comfortable position, then settled. “Hm?”

“Hmm.” Ten pretended to think about it. “I suppose you haven’t. You can have all the food you want, then.”

“Great.” Yuta set his chin on Ten’s shoulder to watch him cook. “Do you like it, then?”

“It?” Ten flipped the eggs in the pan. “Like what?”

“Baby.” Yuta repeated it carefully. It was ridiculous that this one thing should make him nervous after everything they’d already been through, but there it was. “You said “I heard that” and then left before I could respond.”

“Oh, that.” Was that a little pink around his ear?

“So?” Yuta tilted his head to get closer to that ear. “Do you like it?”

“I thought that was implied.” Ten poked at the eggs. “I do.”

“How cute. Should I only call you that, then?” Ten turned the stove off. He covered the pan to keep the food warm and pulled away from Yuta only to turn around. The look in Ten’s eye was mildly terrifying and still, he was a little turned on. Ten backed Yuta into the nearest counter.

“Now,” Ten started, cozying up to Yuta until he was almost boxed against the counter. He put his hands on either side of Yuta’s elbows. “I think it’s my turn.”

“Your turn to what?”

“To find a name for you. You want to call me baby, right?”

Ominous. Yuta nodded.

“So isn’t it only for for me to come up with something for you? I don’t think baby’s quite the one for you. At least, not mainly.”

“What do you want to call me, then?”

“Let’s see.” Ten pursed his lips. “Honeybunch?”

_What_. “What?”

“You don’t like that one?” His face was far too innocent. “What about sugar plum?”

He was missing something. Yuta tried to keep a straight face.

“Sweetie pie?”

Yuta just shook his head. Ten’s grin was unholy. “Cuppycake? Gumdrop? Snoogums?”

“Okay, what am I missing?” Yuta demanded. “I know I’m missing something.”

Ten cackled. “I’m glad you caught on. It’s from a song, and I don’t think I could stomach calling you any of those for real. Don’t worry too much. I’ll figure something out.”

Yuta picked him up and swung him around in revenge. Ten shrieked, but made Yuta carry him back to the stove for their food. They had to eat and dress quickly to get to work, but it was worth it.

***

Ten lounged on the couch in Yuta’s office with his sketchbook. The door was open, as usual. Yuta seemed swamped in phone calls and emails or else Ten would have just planted himself in Yuta’s lap. He didn’t really know (mostly because he had still been half asleep during the car ride over) exactly what Yuta was up to except that it involved the business side of his job.

He set his pencil down after finishing his second decent sketch of the day. Even if he might be more productive out in the open office space, he wasn’t in the mood to listen to teasing or complaining. And the view was much better here. He had just the right vantage point to observe Yuta without getting called out for staring all the time. It was nice to be able to do that, now.

Yuta hung up the phone and started typing away at his computer. He would have been the exact fantasy of a CEO except for the latest volume of _One Piece_ perched at the edge of his desk. Not to mention the random bits of cloth still strewn everywhere from the brainstorming fit Yuta had apparently gone through a few days before. Ten set aside his sketches. Had he ever felt this peaceful just lying around somewhere?

Yuta wiggled his eyebrows when he spotted Ten watching. Ten stuck his tongue out, trying to keep from laughing. He didn’t want to hurt himself, after all.

Hendery strolled into the office through the open door. “Hi, Yuta. Hello, traitor.”

Ten flipped him off. “Why am I a traitor exactly?”

He waved at Yuta without even looking over. “You didn’t update me! You called me for help and then you didn’t update me on anything! This is treason.”

“Because I’m contractually obligated to call you right after getting a boyfriend instead of, I don’t know, enjoying my time with said boyfriend?” Ten sat up. “And I did. It’s not my fault you barely ever look at your phone when it isn’t for work, but I texted you, Sicheng, Jeno, and Yangyang all at once that we’d worked things out.”

Hendery threw his hands up. “If you know I barely look at my phone, why would you inform me that way?”

Yuta cracked up. Ten pouted. He crossed the room to sit on Yuat’s lap. “Are you laughing at me?”

“Why would I be laughing at you?” Yuta put on the falsest innocent face Ten had seen in a long time.

“That doesn’t work on me.” He tickled Yuta until he gave in.

When he looked around, Hendery was watching them from the couch next to Ten’s sketchbook. He didn’t even look put out about them not paying attention to them. He just smiled fondly.

“What?”

“It’s nice,” Hendery waved at them, “to see you two like this. Seeing you happy.” Ten cooed. “I’m glad I told Yuta to meet with Demeter.” Hendery stood. “I knew he’d like you.”

“It was you?” Ten turned. Yuta didn’t seem surprised. “Hendery told you to take that meeting?”

Yuta nodded. “He said there was something I’d find interesting at the company. So you did mean Ten?”

Hendery nodded. “You were wasted there, Tennie. We all knew it, but no one knew how to solve it because we can’t just tell her to give you up and you didn’t know how to leave. But I thought you two might suit each other.” He gave a smug grin. “I’m glad to see I was right.”

Ten stuck his tongue out. “I’m not thanking you.”

“Whatever.” Hendery headed for the door.

“Is that it?”

He paused in the doorway. “I just wanted to come spy on you. I’ve gotten what I wanted, so goodbye now.” He disappeared

Ten giggled. Yuta laughed with him. “I want to thank him, but I don’t know how.”

“Don’t.” Ten kissed him. “He’ll just start making us thank him every time we see him.”

“Well, we wouldn’t want that.” They kissed until the phone rang.

Ten groaned. “Banished,” he sighed dramatically. Yuta just laughed as he picked himself up and returned to the couch.

***

Ten hefted his bundle of materials as he hurried down the hall. He’d been making enough headway with the other project that he’d almost forgotten the meeting Yuta warned him about. He strode past the paintings on the walls without stopping to inspect a new one the way he usually would. He slipped into the conference room. There was still space at the end of the table, so he zeroed in there to drop his stuff. He let out a breath and straightened to examine the rest of the room. Sicheng sat several chairs away, phone in hand, watching him.

“Oh, my gods.” Ten rushed over to hug him. Sicheng took it with grace. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here for work.” Sicheng pointed at Ten's little pile. “They want me to model for the show. I'll be walking in your clothes.”

“What?” Ten pulled back to stare at Sicheng. “You're going to wear my clothes?”

Sicheng nodded, one of his quiet smiles peeking out. Yuta edged around the table to find his own seat. Sicheng waved. Right, they were friends. Yuta came over.

“I see you found each other.”

Ten tugged on Yuta’s sleeve. “Was this your idea?”

Yuta shrugged, a small smile playing around his lips. “I don't know what you mean, Sichengie works for us all the time. Hi, by the way.”

“Hey. I'm contractually obligated to tell you that if you hurt Ten, I will make you disappear.”

Yuta pouted. “I thought we were friends?”

“We are.” Sicheng patted Ten. “But I like Ten better.”

Yuta pretended to cry. Ten nudged Sicheng for being sweet. He poked Yuta. “Hey.”

Yuta calmed down and snuck a little closer. “Hey.”

He didn’t know what to say. Ten played with Yuta's jacket. “Thank you.”

Yuta gave him a sweet smile. “There's nothing to thank me for.”

“Hmmm.” He wasn't a very good liar. Ten leaned in to kiss him.

“Okay, that's enough,” Sicheng kicked the back of Ten's leg. “Not in front of me, thanks.”

“Aw, are we traumatizing you?” Ten teased as he stepped back, winking at Yuta.

“Disgusting me, more like.”

Ten giggled. As Yuta made for the head of the table, Ten retrieved his bundle and sat next to Yuta. Exhilarating as it was to discuss Sicheng walking his clothes, his favorite part of the meeting was the faces Sicheng made whenever either of them showed too much affection.

***

Ten had to work not to spin out too much in the whirlwind that was the last days and hours before his first show. Fittings, planning, more fittings. Ten supervised or got to have opinions on some aspects, and watched on others, to learn. Some of the fittings were for him, for proper formal clothes he could wear to such an event (and a few more Yuta snuck in when Ten wasn't paying attention).

He waited just inside the door. A veritable circus spread out before him. Models wandered around, not yet dressed, as techs dashed past them with equipment, food, various supplies, and clothes. _His_ clothes. It was surreal.

Yuta wrapped his arms around Ten from behind. “How are we feeling?”

Ten sighed. “Is this real? Is this really happening?” Sicheng passed by with a wave, but the tech leading him around wouldn’t let him stop. Jaehyun had been able to stop by earlier to chat, but apparently Artemis was in more demand than Apollo today.

Yuta chuckled. “It's real. Do you want me to pinch you?”

“You better not.” Ten poked him. 

Yuta laughed. “You'd better not fall asleep, then.”

Ten grumbled. Sicheng passed in front of them again, this time looking like he wanted to kill his tech. 

“Come on.” Yuta led him away by the hand. Cameras flashed, had been flashing all day, but Ten barely cared. They found their seats, right at the head of the walkway. “Someday you might want to spend more time backstage controlling things, but today I thought you'd want to see the fruits of your labor.”

“How are you so sweet?” Ten grabbed him by the jaw to kiss him. It would have been a perfectly sweet kiss if it weren’t for the camera flash that startled Ten midway through it.

Yuta smoothed a hand down Ten’s back. “Don’t worry about the cameras. I won’t let them get too near you.”

Ten patted his cheek. “Thanks, babe.” With Yuta right there, it was hard to be nervous. They sat when the lights flickered. As the runway lights went up and music began, Ten gripped Yuta’s hand to release some of the excitement. 

“This is all yours,” Yuta laced their fingers together as he whispered in Ten’s ear. “Don’t you dare thank me for this later. You did this. Don’t be afraid to enjoy it.”

“I love it.” Ten set his head on Yuta’s shoulder as the models started to walk. Despite remaining seated the whole time, it was a little like flying.

***

Ten perched on the edge of Yuta’s desk, hooking his knees over the arms of Yuta’s office chair. Clouds drifted past Yuta’s window. He nudged the keyboard back so he could sit more stably. “Did you miss me?”

“I saw you ten minutes ago,” Yuta laughed.

Ten pouted. “You didn’t miss me?”

“You know I did, why are you asking?”

A cloud slid past the sun, filling the room with light. Ten kissed him. “Because it’s fun.”

Yuta snickered. “Have you had lunch yet?”

“Mostly, yeah. Why?”

Yuta leaned to reach his lunch bag. “I was wondering if you would like to help finish mine.” He pulled out a pomegranate. The deep red skin almost gleamed in the light. Ten didn’t like it.

He leaned away. “You know I don’t like fruits.”

“Yeah, and it worries me.” Yuta split the pomegranate open; the seeds glimmered wetly in two perfect circles, almost like a round of rubies. “Is it the taste you don’t like? Texture? Scent? Sight?” He ate a couple of the seeds.

Ten wrinkled his nose. “Sight, I guess? I don’t mind fruit-flavored things as much.”

Yuta hummed. “Close your eyes.”

“What are you gonna do?” Ten squirmed. 

“Don’t you trust me? I want to try something.”

Ten closed his eyes. Yuta shifted; heat moved closer, so he must have stood.

“You eat seeds, I know.” Yuta put a finger on Ten’s lips. Ten opened his mouth until Yuta’s finger rested on his tongue. Yuta placed one of the seeds and pulled out his finger. The casing burst, releasing cool, tart juice on his tongue. Ten swallowed.

“How was that?”

Ten shrugged. “Not as bad as I thought it would be.”

“How about another one, then?” Yuta pressed another seed to Ten’s lips. He ate that one, too, and another. When Ten swallowed the sixth seed, Yuta rewarded him with a kiss. He tasted like pomegranates. Maybe Ten could learn to like this.

The claxon of Yuta’s desk phone yanked him back. Ten jumped. Yuta groaned. He hit the speaker button without backing away from Ten. “Yes?”

“I’m sorry,” Cerberus sounded more unsettled than Ten had ever heard her. “I couldn’t stop her. She just won’t listen.”

“What?” They stared at the phone. “What do you mean?”

“She’s coming!” The call cut out, but it didn’t take long for her meaning to become clear.

Ten twisted to face the door as his mother stormed into Yuta’s office. His stomach dropped as ice shot through his veins.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she raged. “ Letting yourself be stolen away and kissed by this snake?” Jeno crept into the room behind her, grimacing. Ten would have waved, but he couldn’t take his attention off his mother for anything.

“I prefer cat, myself,” Yuta retorted. “Or an owl, if you must.”

She sneered at him. “Stay out of this, interloper.”

Ten got off the desk so he could face her. “Don’t talk to him like that.”

She frowned at Ten like he was still a troublesome toddler. “Why are you here of all places? I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Come home, now.”

“No.”

She raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“I said no.” He came around the desk. Behind her, Jeno seemed to be repeating apologies. None of this was his fault. “I left for a reason. I left you a note explaining what I was doing. I’m an adult, I can choose where I want to live and where I want to work. You don’t get to drag me home just because you don’t like what I decided.”

Demeter turned the sneer on him. “You think you get to leave me? I give you a job, a home, I take care of you your entire life, and this is how you repay me?”

He crossed his arms over his chest even as his stomach dropped. “I don’t owe you my entire life. I’m grateful to you for doing your job as a parent, but that doesn’t mean I should do everything you want for the rest of my life.”

“So you don’t want to see your friends again?” She waved to Jeno.

Jeno wrung his hands. “I think I’m supposed to mention where I work now?” He looked miserable, caught between the two of them.

Ten gave him a small smile. “Do what you need to do, Jen. Okay?”

Jeno frowned. Ten raised his eyebrows. He sagged. Ten turned back to his mother. “Do you even realize how far you’re going for this? Just let me go.”

She flicked a hand at Yuta. “Do you really think he cares about you? I bet he took you in because you spread your legs for him, hmm? Did he spin you pretty lies about giving you the world when he took you from me?” Ten shouldn’t have been surprised. He still flinched.

“Alright, that’s enough.” Yuta came to stand next to Ten. “You don’t know what you’re talking about, and you clearly don’t know how to have a civil conversation. Please leave before I have you escorted out.”

She pointed at Yuta. “You’ve been very stupid, trying to make a contract with one of my employees. I was going to be nice if you let him go, but I can and will sue you for breach of contract. Not to mention warn the world about what you really are.”

Ten stood frozen as she swept out, Jeno wincing but following in her wake. How did she ruin everything so easily? His hands shook.

Yuta hugged him from behind. “Are you okay?”

Ten shuddered, leaning back into his hold. “I—mostly I’m shaken? I knew she’d be upset.” She’d always been possessive. “I didn’t expect her to be _that_ upset.”

Yuta turned him around. “I’m sorry she said all that.”

Ten shook his head and nuzzled closer. “It’s not your fault. It’s just how she is.”

“That doesn’t make it okay for her to talk to you like that.”

He shrugged. “I’m not worried about that, I’m worried about the lawsuit she threatened.”

Yuta stroked his back. “Don’t be. I have the best lawyer, and even if we do go to court, I can’t believe anyone would force you back to her after seeing your life here compared to before.”

“But you shouldn’t have to go to court for me. What’ll this do to the company? To your reputation?” What if he’d ruined everything for Yuta a whole other way?

Yuta pulled back to cup Ten’s face. “Don’t say that.” Had he spoken out loud? “And don’t worry about the company, okay? Even if something happens, you’re worth it to me. You were worth the risk when I had only seen your drawings. Now, you’re worth so much more.”

Ten kissed him. Yuta kept one hand on his face, dropping the other to Ten’s back to pull him closer. Ten set his chin on Yuta’s shoulder when they pulled away.

“So, who’s this lawyer?”

***

Yuta took Ten’s hand as he got out of the car. _Poseidon, LLP _was cut into the front of the building they had stopped for, above the trident logo. He kept telling Johnny that Poseidon was a silly name for a law firm, but he never listened.

Ten laced their fingers together. “This is your friend?”

“Yeah.” Yuta locked the car and led Ten toward the door. “I’ve known Johnny almost as long as I’ve known Taeil, and they’ve known each other longer. He’s very good at what he does.” And maybe listening to real legal advice would settle Ten enough to let him sleep tonight.

The doors slid open for them. Johnny remained fond of sea animals even after all this time, so the pictures on the walls were all of dolphins, starfish, crabs. The receptionist directed them right back to Johnny’s office with a kind smile and offer of saltwater taffy, which Ten turned down.

“What’s with the taffy?” Ten whispered once they were out of the room.

“I’m not really sure.” Yuta wrapped his arm around Ten’s waist to pull him closer. “I think Amphitrite just likes it?”

Ten hummed. If Johnny’s reception area was a glimpse of the sea, his office was the sea’s throne room. As in, he sat in a desk chair made to look like a throne of seashells and kept a collection of fish in a tank by the wall next to his shelf of law books. Ten peered around as they sat Yuta went to greet Johnny.

“What kind of mess have you gotten into this time?” Johnny hugged him anyway.

Yuta pretended to smack him. “You say that like you haven’t been the cause of at least half the messes I’ve gotten into in my life.”

Johnny snorted. “That would be saying something, since we haven’t known each other even half our lives.”

“And yet.” As good as they both had been at getting them (and Taeil too) into trouble, he was very good at getting them out of it. “I don’t know if I’d call this a mess yet.”

“Let’s hope not.” Johnny went to greet Ten. Yuta took his seat as Johnny got out a notepad and found his own seat. “So, what’s going on?”

Ten glanced at Yuta. He nodded. Ten licked his lips. “I’m not sure where to start. My mother is insisting that because I used to work for her, I’m not allowed to leave her employment, and she wants to sue Yuta for breach of contract. Only, I would swear I never signed any contract. I just started working there.”

Johnny nodded. “Your mother is Demeter, right?”

“Yes.” Yuta squeezed his hand. Ten smiled at him quickly.

“Can you tell me more about you original situation? I believe you if you say you never signed anything, but the more detail I have, the better.”

Ten nodded slowly. His gaze went somewhere Yuta couldn’t follow, like every time he’d been asked about his mother. “I started working at her front desk when I was in high school. She thought it would be good for me to get experience in the workplace. I still thought I might be allowed to pursue fashion, so I just thought she was trying to teach me some responsibility.” He licked his lips. “Because I was young, she said the money would go into an account I could use, like my allowance. I never signed anything for it, she just made sure I was paid. And I did get paid.”

His hand twitched in Yuta’s hold. “I just never stopped doing that work. After I graduated, her old receptionist left, so she had me move up to that position. It was around that time I realized she never intended to let me work as a designer. Every time I tried to bring it up, she blanked me or changed the subject.” Ten traced a little circle over Yuta’s knee with the fingers of his held hand. “I pushed it once. She was angry.” He shivered. “So I didn’t bring it up again. I just … kept working there. We never talked about what that change in position meant, though she did start paying me more.

I have my guesses about why she didn’t want me to work as a designer, but I never actually knew. I kept my head down and worked on finding out what I could quietly. Things got better after I convinced her to let me live alone. Somewhere she chose, with rent she paid and conditions she agreed on, but still alone, so I could get art supplies and draw whatever I wanted as long as she didn’t see it.” He glanced at Yuta, almost nostalgic. “That’s why I was so worried when you saw my sketchbook. I never wanted her to know I had it. My friends are mostly in fashion, so they often passed me things. The same week we met, Jungwoo actually passed me along a new pack of drawing pencils.” 

“So you met Yuta and he offered you a job?” Johnny prodded.

Ten smiled. “Yuta almost broke my brain. He saw some of my sketches and told me not only did he think they were good, he wanted me to join his personal team. Like that’s just a normal thing people do.”

“I never said it was normal,” Yuta groused. “It was new for me, too. I just needed to make it happen.”

Ten patted his knee. “Well, he managed that. It took some thinking, but we did it. I left my apartment with a note about leaving the company, took everything that was important to me, and signed a very fair contract with Hades. My mother is convinced that she owns me, though, and she wants to sue for breach of contract.”

Johnny finished making a note. “Well, she can’t do that.” He tapped the paper. “Certainly, if she went to court and tried, she would need to produce the actual contract. If she can’t produce a document you signed, and you would swear under oath that you never signed anything,” Ten nodded, “then she has no case. Not giving you a contract while you were her son in high school might have been overlooked, but as an adult it’s not very ethical. Even if you were getting paid.”

“Could she get in trouble for that?” Yuta perked up. “The contract, if she actually sued.”

“Very possibly.” Johnny snorted. “Which is what any lawyer she talks to will tell her. I’ll contact Demeter to let her know I represent you, and probably get in touch with her lawyer as well, but hopefully her lawyer will just talk her down quickly.”

Ten pursed his lips. “My mother isn’t known for backing down.”

Johnny shrugged. “Legally, she’ll have to. Don’t worry about her taking you back. Unless you want to go.”

Ten shook his head.

“What about the company?” Yuta stretched. “Ten was worried about her damaging us that way.”

Johnny waved his notepad. “Not with a lawsuit. She might not want to give up, but she’s not going to take you to court because she literally can’t win. It’s not a smart move.”

Yuta ran his thumb over the back of Ten’s hand. “Feel better now?”

Ten eyed him. “Marginally.”

Yuta kissed him. Johnny grinned at them obnoxiously when they pulled apart. Yuta flipped him off as Ten giggled. They chatted for a while longer, mostly to get caught up, before Yuta took Ten home. When they finally went to bed, Ten didn’t even seem to think before climbing into Yuta’s bed and cuddling up to him. Yuta slept easily for once.

***

The cold that had seeped into their bed when Ten woke wrapped around Yuta didn’t seem like a good sign. He didn’t have to be up for a while yet, so he squeezed closer and tried to rest, even if he couldn’t sleep. He set his chin on Yuta’s breastbone to watch him sleep. He rested so deeply, Ten would often have wondered if he was dead except for the breath he could feel.

He tried to smile at Yuta when the other blinked awake. “Good morning.”

“Hey.” Yuta rubbed at his eyes. “When did you wake up?”

“Not that long ago.” He drew a little pattern over Yuta’s chest. “How are you feeling?”

“Me?” He propped himself up on his elbows. “I’m fine. Why?”

Ten shrugged. “I just have a bad feeling about today.”

“What kind of bad feeling?”

“I don’t know.” He frowned. “I woke up cold and I didn’t feel like going back to sleep. It just feels like something’s going to happen.”

Yuta frowned. “It’s not that cold in here. I—”

Both of their phones ringing cut him off. That was odd; Ten had left the sound on because it wasn’t supposed to be used this weekend. He reached for both, passing Yuta’s along. Yuta answered his call. Ten flipped his phone over. He had several texts from his friends warning him not to go online. Yangyang’s read _I don’t want you going online to look for this, but you should know that someone’s spinning lies about you_ and contained an article link. He clicked it.

Ten froze. The headline read “Hades’ New Designer A Fraud?” with a photo someone had snapped at the show of him kissing Yuta. The article continued below, but he couldn’t look away from the headline. _Fraud_. He felt sick. His hand clenched around the phone.

Yuta hung up the phone. “That didn’t sound very good. What are you looking at?”

Ten couldn’t look away, couldn’t say anything. Everything he’d worked for—everything they’d worked for—she’d destroyed it all with a few words, just for spite. Just because he’d said no to her. His hands shook. He’d never actually thought she would go this far for him.

“Ten? What’s wrong?”

Ten turned the phone toward Yuta. He took it. Ten tried to breathe through the churning in his gut. Yuta’s face was unreadable, even to him.

He shut the phone off and set it on the side table. “I need to make a phone call.”

“Who are you gonna call?” Ten tried to keep the hysteria out of his voice. “Who could help with this? She’s destroying everything.”

“Hey.” Yuta reached for him. Ten cuddled into Yuta’s lap as close as he could to steal Yuta’s warmth. “It’s okay, okay? It’s not as bad as you’re thinking, I promise. She can’t take away anything that’s truly important. Even if she gets away with her lies, which we won’t allow, the important people know the truth. We’ll survive this. Okay?”

Ten tightened his grip. He breathed in Yuta’s scent and tried to convince himself that Yuta was right.

Yuta reached for his phone and selected a contact. Ten was close enough to hear it ring when Yuta brought the phone close to his ear.

“_Yuta, what’s up? Aren’t you taking a break for the weekend?_”

“Have you seen the news?” Yuta didn’t even greet the person on the other end. “There should have been a few articles this morning about me and Ten.”

“_You?_” The person sounded confused. “_Hold on, let me look. What am I looking for?_”

“Just look up our names, I think it’ll be obvious.”

Some clicking came through, then silence. “_I see._” The voice went cold. “_So you pissed off Demeter, then?_”

“Yes.” Yuta took a breath, chest moving against Ten’s. “We talked to Johnny yesterday. He went to talk to her lawyer. We think that she decided to do something drastic after that. I need help, Taeil.”

“_Yes, you do._” The clicking sped. “_Have you heard from your crisis team yet?_”

Yuta pulled his phone away to look at something. “Not yet, but it’s early. I wouldn’t be surprised if the team hasn’t seen it yet.”

“_Well, call them. You have a good crisis plan in place, even if you getting a boyfriend and his mother coming after you was never in that plan. Get them started on what they know they’re supposed to do. I’ll go down to the office to help. You get down there as soon as possible so we can plan. I’ll need to talk with both of you, okay?_”

Yuta nodded. “I’ll see you soon.”

“_Yeah_.”

They hung up. Yuta dropped his phone back to its spot on the table. “That was Taeil. You remember I told you he runs Hestia? This kind of thing, media madness, is his specialty.”

Ten nodded slowly. “He knows how to deal with people’s mothers trying to destroy their careers?”

“Well, not that specifically, but when it comes to crises and lies, he’s the best. We gotta get dressed, okay? So we can go talk to him.”

Ten nodded again. He nuzzled the side of Yuta’s face before he got up to dress.

***

Taeil was already in Yuta’s office when he walked Ten in. He had set up at a table rather than the desk, with a laptop, notebook, and various papers that turned out to be mostly printouts of the various articles about him and Ten. At least the nicer ones from Ten’s debut were included. Yuta tried to make sure Ten was settled somewhere away from those articles before he went to hug Taeil. As always, Taeil dressed in warm fall colors, and he gave the best hugs. Yuta sighed and sank into his grip.

“Hey. We’ll work this out, okay?” Taeil patted his back before pulling away to bring him to Ten.

“Ten, this is Taeil. Taeil, Ten. You’ve both heard about each other, but I didn’t have a chance to introduce you before.”

Taeil smiled warmly as he greeted Ten. “I’m sorry we’re meeting under these circumstances. Normally, I’d offer to share embarrassing stories about Yuta, but I think that’ll have to wait.”

Yuta groaned, but it made Ten laugh. That made everything a little better. “Another time, yes.” Ten bit his lip. “You can do something about this?”

“Oh, I definitely can.” Taeil went to sit at his end of the table. Yuta sat next to Ten, taking his hand. “Are the others around?”

Yuta shrugged. “I called Kun, so Taeyong knows, and he’s probably told the others. I wanted to warn them, but I didn’t tell them to come in.”

“So they’ll be here in ten minutes then.”

“Pretty much.”

“Great. Well, before they get here.” Taeil shuffled his papers around until he had a neat stack. “You mentioned before that you were talking to Johnny about this whole thing. I spoke to him before coming over. He agrees with you that this probably happened after he went to speak with her and her lawyer.”

“Yeah, that’s what he texted this morning.” Yuta played with Ten’s fingers to give himself something to do with his hands.

“So before we can do anything else, I want you to talk me through both your perspectives on everything that’s happened. Johnny told me what he knew, but I need as much information as possible.”

They talked him through the whole thing. Yuta caught Taeil up on what had happened from his end, only stopping to greet Kun and Taeyong as they snuck in. Ten gave Taeil a shorter version of what he had told Johnny. He didn’t stop when when Renjun, Donghyuck, and Jaemin stepped in, when Xiaojun came to sit with them, or when Taeyong left Kun’s side to hold his other hand. 

As hard as it had been to listen to Ten tell Johnny everything his mother had done, he found it somehow worse to listen to his rendition of recent events. Maybe it was because he had seen how happy Ten was just days ago, with the collection and the fashion show. It wasn’t right that his mother could try to take that away for spite. He told Taeil as much after Ten wrapped up.

Taeil had been taking careful notes during both of their stories. When they finished, he nodded slowly. “Okay. We already knew she was lying, but having print proof right here is better than not knowing for sure.”

“How does that help?” Xiaojun asked. “Obviously we believe them, but isn’t it still our word against theirs at this point?”

“Somewhat.” Taeil peeked at his phone before setting it aside. “That was the team downstairs. You’re right, it’s our view against theirs, but the more detail I can give, the better off we are.”

“And you can do something about all this?” Ten tried to gesture, but he didn’t seem to want to let go of the hands holding his. “How can we reverse something people already think? The damage is already done, isn’t it?”

Taeil smiled at Ten. “This is what I do. It won’t be easy and it may not be quick, but if we can get the truth out there, people will see it. You’ve done nothing wrong, and once we make enough people see that, the rest can’t do anything. The tabloids might try to keep at it, but they would have made up rumors anyway. People always talk. They were always going to say something about you having a relationship with the owner of your company, but that doesn’t mean we have to let them spread lies everywhere.”

That seemed to settle Ten a bit. “So how do we do that?”

Taeil patted his laptop. “That’s where I come in. This is my specialty. We have plans in place for various crises, and we can implement one of those with the changes here. The crisis team Yuta and I set up when he first started this company is already on it. I’m going to take this information,” he waved the paper pad he had been using to take notes, “down to them when we’re done talking here and they can incorporate it into the plan.”

“Is there anything we can do?” Donghyuck asked. “I know we’re not directly involved, but I think I speak for everyone when I say we want to help.”

The others nodded. Taeil seemed pleased with that, but shook his head. “Mostly this needs to involve the subjects of the story. You can say that you support them, but it’s not really your story. We’re going to put the truth in front of people’s face in such a way that they have to listen to it. Online, in person, everywhere. That also means that, if you think you can handle it, you’ll need to be interviewed,” he told Ten. “I can walk you through prepping for one. Your story, as close as possible to the raw truth of everything that has happened to you, will be so much more convincing than just the words on paper. You, too, maybe,” he nodded at Yuta, “but you’re the rescuer, so to speak, rather than the main character.”

Yuta shrugged. “That’s fine with me, you know I don’t like interviews much.”

“Why not?” Ten asked.

“Because he embarrasses himself,” Renjun muttered.

Yuta shushed him. “Because I’m a big name in the industry, they usually like to try twisting my words and causing drama.” He shrugged again. “It’s not the worst thing in the world, but it’s annoying. So I try to avoid it.”

Ten looked worried. “Won’t they try to do that to me?”

“Maybe,” Taeil glared at Yuta a bit, “but that’s what I’m here for. We won’t let them, and once you establish where you belong in the story, they will begin to back off. If you really don’t want to, we can release your story differently, but it would be for the best if they can hear it from your own mouth.”

Ten frowned. “It’s the most believable that way.”

“Yes.”

“Particularly if they can see your face when you do it,” Kun added. “I’ve done interviews like this a few times. Words are great, they can be very persuasive. But it’s you telling your story—what feels like in person—to an audience that will make them want to listen. Particularly with a situation like yours.”

“You mean with a mother like mine?” The words were bitter, but Ten just seemed tired. Yuta squeezed his hand.

“Yes.” Kun came around to sit next to Taeyong. “You have a compelling story particularly because there’s a villain. It sucks that it’s your mother, but you can make people listen.”

Ten stared at him for several moments. Something seemed to shift in the air. He turned to Taeil. “You can teach me how to do it?”

“I can.”

“Then I’ll do it.”

He could see traces of the Ten who had hid his sketches in an office drawer in the Ten in front of him, but just barely. Yuta kissed his cheek. Ten smiled at him for the first time since this had all started.

“Great.” Taeil gathered up his papers. “Then I’ll take these downstairs and we can get started.”

As Taeil left the room, their friends converged on them. Jaemin grabbed Ten in a hug from behind. Donghyuck, Renjun, and Xiaojun almost sounded like they were bickering as they came over, but it all seemed to be about ways to help. Kun and Taeyong didn’t move, but stayed close to Ten. They could get through this together.

***

Ten took deep breaths, trying to remain calm. Calm. Yuta had been called away to a meeting—a normal business meeting, because apparently their personal apocalypse didn’t stop business operations—so he and Taeil had come alone. Taeil was arranging things with the interviewer. Ten sat very still while a make-up artist moved around trying to get him all pretty for his interview. A tech walked up to set up his mic and had to negotiate with the artist for space.

It would be fine, right? The interviewer seemed nice enough, and Taeil was there to make sure nothing too terrible happened. He liked Taeil. Taeil was competent, confident in a reassuring way, and just overall soothing somehow. Yuta trusted him. It would be fine.

The techs released him. Ten walked over to the seat they had said would be his, in the little space in front of the cameras. The interviewer sat in her chair already, chatting with Taeil. A little smile made her mildly icy aura melt, made her face warm and sweet. She turned the smile on Ten when he came close enough.

“Did you escape the techs?”

He had to laugh. “Not exactly. They just released me.”

“Fair enough.” She glanced back at Taeil. “I guess that’s our cue?”

Taeil nodded. “I’ll let you get to is.” He patted Ten’s shoulder strongly as he passed. “Remember, breathe, stick to your truth, look at me if you get nervous. I’ll be right there if you need me.”

Ten nodded, breathing slowly. “I can do this.”

“You can do this.”

Taeil left them alone, going to stand outside the edge of the cameras behind the interviewer. He had told Ten he would do that, so Ten could look at him if he got nervous. The interviewer gave him another smile.

“I know you’re nervous,” she said quietly. “I promise, that’s normal. But you have nothing to be worried about. We’ll just talk, and I might ask you a few more pointed questions. Just give me words to work with and it’ll be fine, alright?”

Ten nodded. He managed a smile. “I think I can do that.”

“Excellent.” She turned to the camera. The cameraman was still adjusting something. They chatted about things Ten didn’t really understand, and he was asked to check his mic and adjust it a few times, but overall the process didn’t seem bad. Finally, the cameraman gave a signal and his interviewer beamed at the camera.

“Welcome to Circe’s Circle,” she said. “As always, I’m Joy. Today, I have with me Ten, more recently known as Persephone, the newest entrant of the Underworld. The only known and rarely heard of child of Demeter, Ten left her company for the Underworld a few months ago. You’ve all heard the things Demeter’s had to say about it. Now Ten is here to tell us his story.” She turned back to Ten. “Thank you for being with us today, Ten.”

“Thank you for having me.” There. His voice hadn’t cracked, his breathing hadn’t sped. He could do this.

She nodded. Behind her, Taeil gave him a thumbs up. “I’m very glad you decided to join us. I hope my introduction was okay?”

He nodded. “I thought it was very comprehensive.”

“Really? That’s great. You started a new job recently. Would you like to tell us how that’s been going for you?”

That, he could answer easily. “Oh, it’s amazing.” He had to keep himself from rambling too much as he detailed exactly why he loved his job. Joy didn’t jump on the opportunity to ask about Yuta and the rumors. Instead, she asked how he had come to work there. She seemed deeply sympathetic when he gave a short description, then gently asked for more. He could do this. Ten kept smiling at the camera and answered her questions.

***

The interview came out a few days later. First the video interview, then a printed article. It spread, along with the other magic Taeil worked from Yuta’s office table, until the two sides not only competed for page space, but Ten’s began to win out. Ten watched things change from the safety of Yuta’s arms, when he wasn’t busy working.

More requests, for interviews, for information, came pouring in. Taeil fielded all the requests, but did ask Ten to do a few more interviews. They became easier the more he did them, though he began to see Ytua’s point about interviewers digging after doing a few with people who weren’t Joy. Some just wanted the truth, but others wanted to start drama or get “a scoop.” It made him grateful for Taeil’s training as he fielded interview after interview.

Demeter had been disturbingly quiet this whole time. Ten really hoped she had just gotten tired. For the moment, he stuck close to Yuta and enjoyed the respite.

***

He had known it wouldn’t last. Ten cracked his knuckles. And he still didn’t like this conference room. It was just him, Yuta, Taeil, and Johnny this time. As amazing as the others had been about everything, they didn’t need to hear every second of his mother’s tantrums.

Johnny sighed as he got off the phone. “Well, the good news is that the public isn’t really listening this time.”

“How do you know that?” Ten leaned into Yuta when Yuta started playing with his fingers. “We can’t really measure what anyone is thinking. And she was … she was pretty vocal this time.”

“Your sales and stocks are still rising,” Taeil pointed out. “And it’s been hours. You would probably have seen a drop by now if anything serious was going to happen again. Particularly in this kind of back and forth case.”

“Plus, she was visibly histrionic.” Johnny tapped the newspaper on the table. His mother’s picture, much less collected than she usually looked, glared up at them all. “After your story, the way you presented yourself, this doesn’t look very good. We can’t measure what people think, yes, but we can measure what they say. Most commentary has been sympathetic to us.”

“So we just do nothing?” Yuta asked. “That doesn’t sound like you.”

“I never said that.” Johnny waved his phone. “I was giving you the good news. The bad news is that she’s not taking no for an answer this time.”

“When does she ever,” Ten muttered into Yuta’s shoulder. Yuta patted his head.

Johnny shrugged. “That was her demanding a meeting. I think it’s been made clear to her that she would not not win a lawsuit, but she still wants you.”

“I still don’t get why,” Ten whined. He draped himself over Yuta half for drama, half because he needed the comfort. “Does she really think any of this will work?”

Yuta petted him. “It’s a control thing. I don’t think she’s capable of letting it go.”

He sighed from his bones. “She has to realize this isn’t helping.” He sat up. “Or maybe not. You don’t think she’s going to stop asking?”

Johnny shook his head. “Unfortunately. They keep pushing for a meeting with us to work everything out, as though they’ll get something out of us with it.”

“Would it make her stop?” Ten took Yuta’s hand again. “I will not go back. But do you think talking things out with her would make her stop?”

“You know her best.” Taeil and Johnny shared a glance. “I would in many situations tell you not to engage with a person like this because she’s trying to bully you and engaging will only encourage her, but it’s your mother. Will she listen to reason if we talk to her? Are you willing to lose a relationship over this?”

“I was willing to lose the relationship when I left.” He’d never admitted that out loud, but maybe that was what he had been looking for. “I thought I had, for a while. I knew what I was doing by leaving. That’s not what worries me. I’m worried about getting her to stop.”

“You know what might work?” Johnny seemed to be thinking out loud. “If we find someone who can reason with her, we could arrange for some kind of informal arbitration. Tell that person everything and get them to tell her to stop.”

Taeil nodded. “Or, at least, we’ll have tried everything we can, which looks good for us if she escalates.”

“So.” Johnny turned to him. “You know her best. Who does she listen to?”

“That’s a good question.” Ten propped his chin on his hand. It often felt like she never listened. “I know of a couple friends who do get through to her, but I don’t think they would be very sympathetic to me.” Joohyun, in particular, seemed to regard him as colorless. Her ex, on the other hand … “There’s Jungwoo.”

“Jungwoo? Really?” Yuta sat up. “Are they close?”

Ten nodded. “Well, not exactly close, but she holds his opinion in high regard. I remember once he had to talk her down from a tantrum over one of his less-complimentary reviews.” It hadn’t been pretty. “I think he might be the only person I’ve ever seen actually make her shut up.”

“I’ll call him.” Johnny picked up the phone. “He’s a client of mine, too. And he likes you, right?”

“Yes. I think he deals with Demeter because it’s good business, but he likes me. He used to sneak me art supplies when we saw each other. And he knows I’m here.” Ten tapped out a pattern on the table. “The last time he came to the office for a meeting, he stopped by the Underworld offices and we talked. He doesn’t know everything, but he’s very reasonable.”

Johnny made the call. Jungwoo seemed confused about why he was being asked such a thing, but agreed to it easily enough. Demeter’s lawyer, too, was a reasonable person who agreed to the meeting and time when they called. Johnny stood after hanging up. “Since he’s agreed, I’m going to go take care of the rest.”

“I’ll come with you.” Taeil started gathering up files. “Once the meeting is filed for and arranged we’re going to want to have all our evidence in order.”

“I wouldn’t exactly call this ‘evidence,’” Johnny said, but he held open the door for him anyway. They kept talking as they left.

Ten turned to Yuta. “Is that it, then?”

“Until the meeting.” Yuta stood, offering a hand. “There’s nothing more we can do. Are you hungry?”

“I am.” Ten took his hand. “As long as you don’t try to feed me any more fruit.”

Yuta laughed as they left. “I promise.”

***

Jungwoo’s offices were apparently a neutral zone for this meeting. Ten wandered around the space. He’d never been here before, but it suited Jungwoo. His desk was an industrial grey, which would freak Ten out to look at all the time, but went well with Jungwoo’s general cloudy scheme throughout the office. He had two long couches facing each other that were fluffy enough he almost thought they were real clouds. The photos of various favorite styles and outfits around the room gave a subtle rainbow accent to the rest of the room. Even his bookshelf fit in.

Ten sat on one of those fluffy couches, staring down his mother on the other. Yuta sat next to him, intertwining their fingers on top of his thigh. Jungwoo had set a chair between the two couches at the end nearer his desk. Johnny and Taeil flanked Ten and Yuta, a solid, unified presence at their backs. Demeter’s lawyer sat with her.

Jungwoo picked up the legal pad he’d gotten from Johnny on his way in. “Shall we get started, then? I haven’t done this before because no one ever thought I’d be any good at it and I’m still inclined to agree, but I’m told the proceedings are up to me as long as both parties agree to abide by whatever ruling I make. So, I want to listen to both versions of events first, and then I’ll have the lawyers show whatever they’ve got in those boxes.” He waved at the boxes Johnny and Pheme had stashed on a side table near the door. “Then I’ll make my ruling. Can we all agree to that?”

They could. Ten turned toward Jungwoo, into Yuta’s side. He kept his mother in his periphery. She turned from her lawyer toward Jungwoo as well. He still breathed a little easier when her gaze wasn’t on him.

“I’d like to start with Demeter’s story first, since she took the first steps in initiating what became this meeting.” Jungwoo glanced at him. Ten nodded. 

“Right.” Demeter folded her hands in her lap as though she could still pretend to be demure. “This all started a few days after you came to visit me, actually.”

Jungwoo nodded along as she spoke, taking notes. Ten tried to breathe through the clenching in his chest. Jungwoo was reasonable. He liked Ten. But he had a relationship with Demeter, too; he’d first met Jungwoo at a dinner of his mother’s when he and Joohyun were still together and while she was still closer to Joohyun, they had maintained a solid equilibrium. Could he side with her? Yuta stroked his thumb along the back of Ten’s hand. He grounded himself in that touch, even when his mother glared over.

When she finished, Jungwoo thanked her and angeld his body toward Ten. He smiled. “Now, I’ve heard your story over the interviews, but if you don’t mind, I’d like you to go over it for me again. And then I’d like to hear from Yuta.”

Ten nodded. Telling the story had become almost rote by this point. The only hard part was repeating sections of it in front of his mother without shaking. Her gaze burned into him as he spoke. He kept focusing back to Yuta’s hand in his, the warmth seeping toward him from Yuta’s body. It was really nice not to have to do this alone.

Jungwoo took notes as Ten spoke, just as he had before, face impassive. When Ten finished, he looked to Yuta. Yuta launched into his shorter side of the story. Jugnwoo noted those parts down before asking Johnny and Pheme to come forward and show him what they had. Mostly it was all paperwork Ten had seen before, things Taeil had used for interviews, but Johnny had also found the lease on his old apartment, somehow.

When it was all done, he sat back to review his notes. Ten put his head on Yuta’s shoulder. His mother’s glare intensified. Jungwoo flipped through another page, one leg crossed over the other. Ten couldn’t read him, even more so than usual.

“Well.” Jungwoo set down the notepad. “After hearing everything, I think the answer is obvious. I didn’t even need to hear it all, but I thought there might have been something I missed. There wasn’t.” He looked at Demeter, chin propped on his hand. “You’re ridiculous, you know that, Laila?”

“Don’t call me that,” Demeter hissed. “I’m Demeter. And I’m not ridiculous.”

“You are,” Jungwoo insisted. “You employed your son in a job he’s overqualified for, without a contract, controlled his pay and living situation, and never let him try to follow his passion. Which is even the same as yours. Even if none of that is illegal, it’s ridiculous. Why would possibly want to bar him from your business?”

She opened her mouth to respond, but Jungwoo wasn’t done.

“Business-wise, he’s done nothing wrong. You didn’t have him under contract and you weren’t operating ethically with him at all. He’s well within his rights to leave and sign a contract elsewhere. Especially with a company that appreciates him.”

Demeter snorted. “Appreciates. Is that what we’re calling it these days?”

“Hey.” Yuta sounded angrier than Ten had ever heard him, even when Demeter had stormed into the office. “I thought I told you not to talk about him like that.”

Demeter sneered. Yuta opened his mouth again. Jungwoo held up a hand. Yuta settled back next to Ten, grumbling. He turned that stony gaze on Demeter. “You will not insult their relationship in front of me. You and I both know Ten too well for that. At least, I would hope you know your son better than that. And I know Yuta too well to think it of him. You could understand that they have a meaningful relationship, or you could choose to delude yourself, but you will not badmouth them to me, understood?”

She scowled, but nodded.

“Anyway. You have no legal standing. I’m sure you’ve been told that before. I don’t intend to meddle in your relationship with your son, but you can’t expect to have one with him if you continue to force this.”

She didn’t seem to have a response to that.

Jungwoo turned back to Ten. “As I said, I don’t intend to meddle in your relationship. But I do know your mother better than you might think.” Fraught as this all was, Jungwoo’s gaze was kind. “Hear her out before you do anything, okay?”

Ten nodded slowly. If nothing else, maybe he would get some answers.

“Good.” He stood. “I think my job is done. Have fun sorting the rest out. Or not. I have a meeting I’d rather avoid to get to. Feel free to use the room as long as you need.” He swept out.

The atmosphere felt cold as ice. How long had he felt that around his mother and never noticed? Yuta asked the lawyers and Taeil to give them the room. He squeezed Ten’s hand. “Do you want me to stay, baby?”

Ten shook his head. “I think this is a thing I need to do by myself.”

“Okay.” Yuta kissed the side of his head before following the lawyers out.

Ten faced his mother. “So. Where would you like to start?”

“With your mess?”

“I’m not going to take that from you.” Ten stood. “I am willing to talk to you, but if all you’re going to do is insult me, then I’m going to leave. And I’m not obligated to talk to you, no matter what you think. Jungwoo only asked me to hear you out once.”

Demeter sighed heavily. “Fine. That was an unfortunate word choice. Will,” she looked pained to even say it. “Will you listen to me?”

“I will.” He sat.

“I know I haven’t been …” She worked at her cheek. “Things were different, before your father left.”

So he’d been right. Ten swallowed his other guesses down. “I remember.”

She shrugged. “It wasn’t a good time, right after. I was starting up the company, you were so young, and he was gone. So I found an equilibrium, a routine that kept things moving in a way I could handle. I guess I just never thought about it after I figured out what would work.”

“But then I grew up?”

She waved a hand. “You grew up. The company’s needs changed. The industry changed. Everything moved very quickly. I needed a way to handle it. You …” she sighed. “You’ve never made sense to me.”

It shouldn’t have stung. “What do you mean?”

“You like art. I did, too, it’s how I started, but you approach it so differently than I do. The way you look at the world,” She clenched and released her hands. “It’s like he does.” His father. “You look like me, but you think like him. It scared me; it still scares me. So I wanted you close, I wanted you doing something understandable. That way, I could try to make sense of you. That way, you wouldn’t leave.”

It explained a lot, the way she talked. Ten laced his fingers together and waited for her to finish. It fit well with what he had guessed. That didn’t make him feel better.

“I appreciate what you’ve been through.” Ten straightened when she finished. She wasn’t so scary now that the puzzle pieces fit. “I do. But that doesn’t mean you get to treat me like this. Even if we leave aside the legalities, you never let me outside of your grasp when I was with you, you tried to sabotage my career and my relationship, and you repeatedly insult me, my career, and my relationship. None of that is acceptable to me.”

“I’m your mother. You don’t get to just decide what’s acceptable for me.”

“Yes, I do. I’m an adult. I don’t think you’ve ever understood that. The second I turned eighteen, you no longer had any legal control over my life. You tried to, and for a long time you did, convince me that you control me. But you don’t. I have boundaries like any other person and I’m done letting you cross them. If you want to be in my life, learn to respect me.”

She actually looked hurt. “Do you really think I don’t respect you?”

“Yes.” He stood. “Nothing you’ve ever done has indicated any kind of respect for me. Can you not see that?”

For the first time in his life, he had shocked Demeter speechless.

“I need time.” He went to the door. “Please respect that and stop trying to sabotage me.”

She nodded stiffly. Maybe that would be enough. He left.

Yuta waited right outside the door. He had probably heard everything. He looked concerned for Ten. Ten strode right up to him and kissed him, holding on to his jacket lapels. He soaked in what Yuta gave.

“Everything okay?” Yuta asked when he had free use of his mouth.

Ten nodded. “I’ll tell you at home. Let’s just go, okay?”

Yuta nodded. He hooked his arm around Yuta’s waist to escort him out. Johnny and Taeil flanked them. No one bothered them.

***

It felt better than words can express to stand in Yuta’s living room, watching cars creep by on the street through the high window, and know he never had to leave. Ten sighed when Yuta hugged him from behind, handing him a glass of champagne. He twisted a little to press a kiss to his cheek before returning to his car watching.

“It’s over,” Yuta hummed into his neck. “How does it feel?”

“Amazing.” Ten sipped his champagne. “I told her to respect my boundaries if she wants to interact with me. If she learns that, we could have some kind of relationship? But I just like knowing I don’t have to worry about it anymore.”

“I like that, too.”

They drank their champagne and made a game out of watching the cars in traffic.

“Stay.” Yuta’s arms tightened around him.

“Huh?”

Yuta pulled away so he could face Ten from the front. “Before, you were staying here until you found a place. I asked if you wanted to move out once, because I was afraid that I had made you uncomfortable.” He waved between them. “Obviously, that wasn’t true, and it never really came up again. So, I’m bringing it up. I want you to stay here with me. Will you stay?”

Ten drank the last of his champagne leisurely. It was fun to watch Yuta squirm a little. He stepped away to put the glass down. When he came back, Yuta looked a little pouty. He wrapped his arms around Yuta’s neck, pulling himself closer until he was properly on Yuta’s eye level. “I didn’t know you needed to ask. I thought I was already home.”

A smile grew on Yuta’s face, first tiny, then larger until he was grinning, beaming brighter than ever. He ducked forward to kiss Ten. Ten melted into it. Yuta was warm, sweet, still a little fizzy from the champagne. He was home. 

***

Ten had to make sure not to walk too fast on the deck of the yacht. He still wasn’t quite used to the way it rocked, even when they had been tied to the dock. The city’s skyline sparkled, a different kind of jewel to the stars above. He wrapped up chatting with some of Sicheng’s model friends. They seemed to really like Sicheng. Maybe one of them would be able to open him up; he could use more people in his heart. He waved and slipped away. New people were nice, but he missed his people.

Jaehyun caught up as Ten made his way up the ship. “How are you enjoying your party?”

Ten nudged him. “Stop calling it my party. It’s a group celebration.”

Jaehyun snorted. “A group celebration that coincides with your second collection being shown? With all the models who walked that show invited? Plus all your friends. Sure.”

Ten shoved him gently. Jaehyun laughed, hooking an arm through his. “Just shut up and come find Sicheng with me.”

“I can do that.”

He couldn’t shut up, actually, but he was funny. Ten spent their trek laughing. His friends had managed to congregate at the bow. Taeyong was chatting with Sicheng about what looked like clothes, since he kept gesturing at both of their outfits. Jaehyun snuck up behind Sicheng and quickly incorporated himself into the conversation. Chenle and Yangyang seemed to be getting along with Xiaojun, which was all he could ask. 

Hendery was nowhere to be found, but he’d come onto the boat with Mark and Yukhei so gods only knew what they were getting up to. Hopefully it worked out. Renjun, Donghyuck, and Jaemin had found Jeno. Ten was not going to get in the middle of that. Yuta lounged on the railing at the very tip of the stern, smiling at their friends with a glass of wine. Ten made his way over.

“Hey.”

“Hello there.” Ten kissed Yuta and stole some of his wine. Yuta only laughed and pulled Ten into a hug.

“What were you up to?”

“Making friends with some of Sicheng’s models. They were nice, but I missed you. Then Jaehyun tagged along.”

Yuta glanced to where Jaehyun and Sicheng were still chatting. “That’s good.”

“What were you up to?”

Yuta gestured vaguely. “Supervising, though I don’t know what. Did you know Jisung never stops moving? I’m glad we hired him, but I’m a little terrified.”

Ten laughed. “Where is he?” Jisung had seemed worried about coming to the party both as a new hire and as a non-designer, but if he was still that hyper he was probably fine.

Yuta shrugged. “He disappeared somewhere. I figured it was fine since we’re on a boat and he can’t really get lost.”

Ten hummed. He set his head on Yuta’s shoulder to watch his friends mingle. It would have been best if Jungwoo, Johnny, and Taeil could have come, but something else seemed to be brewing that required their attention. They could worry about that later. For tonight, Ten intended to enjoy his underworld.

**Author's Note:**

> If you made it this far, I hope you enjoyed! I will be revisiting this universe someday, I think. There are stories still to be told.
> 
> A couple of notes, in case you were curious:
> 
> The Gods who appear:  
Zeus = Jungwoo  
Poseidon = Johnny  
Hades = Yuta  
Hestia = Taeil  
Thanatos = Taeyong  
Hecate = Kun  
Athena = Doyoung  
Persephone = Ten  
Apollo = Jaehyun  
Artemis = Sicheng  
Styx = Xiaojun  
Aphrodite = Hendery  
Fate/Fury = Renjun  
Hermes = Jeno  
Fate/Fury = Donghyuck  
Fat/Fury = Jaemin  
Dionysus = Yangyang  
Eros = Chenle  
Iris = Jisung  
Hera = Joohyun  
Circe = Joy  
Cerberus = As yet unrevealed :D  
Nyx = Wendy
> 
> -I used Laila Boonyasak as a reference for Demeter; she's a Thai actress about the age Ten's mother in this fic would be  
-The Bosco Verticale is real! It's an apartment building set up as a "vertical forest" in the Porta Nuova business district in Milan
> 
> I had so much fun writing this, and I dropped a lot of references. Come talk to me about them~


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